Sussex hope to make an announcement on the future of Mushtaq Ahmed at the end of this week.

But the indications are that the record-breaking leg spinner will be staying with the county.

Warwickshire have made an official approach to talk to the 37-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, and will be able to do so on September 4.

But discussions between Sussex, Mushtaq and his agent are ongoing and could be resolved before the weekend.

Chief executive Gus Mackay said: "We have got one or two things to sort out but I hope there will be an announcement at the end of the week.

"We're still confident he will remain a Sussex player which has always been the case."

Warwickshire themselves seemed resigned to missing out on Mushtaq, who has taken more than 100 wickets twice since joining Sussex in 2003.

Reports in the Midlands suggested they were prepared to make him the highest-paid player in their history with the possibility of a coaching role as well.

But the Bears are now turning their attention to other slow bowlers as they look to boost their squad.

They are continuing their efforts to register former Surrey off-spinner Nayan Doshi and have made an official approach to Derbyshire about slow left-armer Ant Botha, who is a Kolpak registration.

Meanwhile, Sussex were frustrated by yet more wet weather in the County Championship yesterday.

The first day of their match against Surrey at the Oval was abandoned by umpires Tim Robinson and Trevor Jesty at 5pm because of persistent drizzle and bad light.

Sussex will face a tricky selection dilemma when the action does get underway.

Saqlain Mushtaq would be desperate to play in a strong spin attack alongside Mushtaq on his return to the ground where he enjoyed so much success during eight seasons with Surrey.

But coach Mark Robinson said that the pitch was softer than the normal Oval surfaces and that could mean Sussex will play an extra seamer.

With Robin Martin-Jenkins ruled out by a back problem, James Kirtley could make his first Championship appearance since the teams drew at Hove three months ago.

Kirtley has been Sussex's most consistent one-day bowler this season with 26 wickets and earned a surprise recall to England's squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.

But the form of Jason Lewry, Luke Wright and Martin-Jenkins has limited him to just four Championship appearances and he has only taken one wicket.

With Chris Liddle suffering from a hamstring problem and Carl Hopkinson unable to bowl because of a side strain, the county's seam bowling resources look a little stretched going into the final month of the season.

In addition, Rana Naved is suffering from an ankle problem which Robinson said will need careful managing until the end of the summer. He would have missed his first game of the season on Sunday had Sussex's Pro40 League match against Warwickshire not been rained off.

Yesterday's abandonment means the county have not played since August 15 and although the squad were happy for the chance to re-charge their batteries, Robinson is slighytly concerned about their reaction after a relatively long period of inactivity.

He said: "It is always a little bit worrying how you come out of a longish rest. We haven't played much recently but we seem to have spent an awful lot of in the car driving to games which are rained off."