Sussex fly to Dubai today for their pre-season tour but new signing Saqlain Mushtaq will not be with them.

The former Pakistan off-spinner is staying at home because spending nine days out of the country would delay his application for a British passport.

Saqlain, 30, will start the season as cover for Sussex's overseas players Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved.

But from May, when he should get his passport, he will be EU-qualified and eligible to play for England in 2008.

Coach Mark Robinson said: "Saqlain will be working here with our fitness coach Ben Haining. We just feel at this stage that we don't want to hold up the process of his passport application."

Jason Lewry is also staying at home after his wife gave birth to twin girls last week so former Academy bowler Luke Vintner will be on the trip.

James Kirtley will join up with the squad from Bangladesh, where the England A tour finished on Sunday.

With Murray Goodwin, Matt Prior and Mike Yardy - all certain to play in the opening Championship game against Kent on April 18 - and Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved not involved, Robinson is looking for some less experienced players to make an impression.

Robinson added: "It will be a good chance to see how some of the young players have progressed during the winter which from a coaching point of view is very exciting.

"(Chief Executive) Gus Mackay has been out there and the facilities for playing and training are superb.

"The boys are really looking forward to it. Working in the sun is always good and a trip like this gets the squad bonding together."

Sussex will play four matches and the tour is being sponsored by Emirates Airlines.

They face an Abu Dhabi President's XI on Friday, the UAE Cricket Academy on Saturday and Essex next Monday.

The highlight of the tour is a day-nighter in Sharjah next Tuesday against a Fly Emirates XI.

Meanwhile, former Sussex coach Peter Moores has praised the contribution of Yardy and Prior after England A completed their tour of Bangladesh with victory in the Test and one-day series.

Prior's 51 in the final one-dayer on Sunday made him England's leading run-scorer on tour while skipper Yardy led his side to a 1-0 win in the Tests and 2-1 success in the one-dayers.

The players return to England today and Academy director Moores said: "This A tour has been hugely successful, not only in the results but in the way we have seen the development of a number of exciting new cricketers for England for the future.

"We deliberately picked some exciting young players like Adil Rashid, Steve Davies and Nick Compton, alongside some proven performers who are just outside the senior England squad such as Prior and Yardy. From my point of view this has been a hugely positive tour."

Yardy and Prior were not considered for Sussex's trip after a hectic winter with the Academy which included two months in Australia before Christmas shadowing the Ashes squad.

Robinson said: "Matt and Mike have had a busy few months and they deserve to have some rest before the start of the county season."