Middlesex Preview: Mustard excited to make home debut
29 July 2016
New loan signing Phil Mustard says he is excited by the prospect of making his home debut against Middlesex at the Brightside Ground this Friday.
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The 33-year-old wicketkeeper – who is the all-time leading runscorer in English domestic T20 - won three county championships and two one-day titles during a 16 year career with Durham that included a spell as captain.
And with Glos now assured of a home quarter final after Middlesex's defeat to Essex on Thursday, Phil hopes his experience of playing in big games will help his new team mates.
He said: “I was lucky enough to win a few trophies with Durham and if my experience can help the lads here then that would be great.
“At Durham our most successful sides always had a mix of young guys and a few more experienced players. With Marshy (Hamish Marshall), Maxy (Michael Klinger) and myself being pretty experienced and the rest of the team being young that’s what we have here.
“Gloucestershire have a very good T20 side and have been in great form this year. It would be fantastic to help them get a home quarter final.”
Mustard made his debut in Wednesday’s Royal London One-Day Cup defeat to Surrey after being drafted in for the rest of the season following an injury to Gareth Roderick.
The former England man will be released by Durham at the end of the current campaign but hopes to continue his professional career.
And he said it didn’t take much convincing to make the move south.
He said: “It all came together very quickly.
“I wasn’t playing red ball cricket at Durham but I still want to play all three formats so this is a great opportunity for me.
“I played against Daws (Richard Dawson) and Harv (Ian Harvey) a lot so I knew what they were about and knew they would create a great environment to play in.
“It is very exciting to be joining a team that are top of the T20 group and nine points off the top of Division 2 in the Championship.”
Mustard’s move was endorsed by ex-Glos captain Geraint Jones on Twitter.
Go well Colonel. Great set of lads. Would be brilliant to see another 🏆 for the Glosters https://t.co/9Q4t35dk48
— Geraint Jones (@Gojones623) July 25, 2016
And he also heard positive things about the club from former Gloucestershire allrounder Paul Muchall, brother of Durham team mate Gordon.
The “Colonel” is missing his own benefit match to play against Middlesex and is looking forward to making his first appearance at the Brightside Ground.
He said: “I had a bite to eat with the boys before the Surrey game and they seem like a great bunch of lads. They’ve told me it is a great atmosphere for the Friday night T20s in Bristol and I am looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd and helping us get that home quarter final.”
Gloucestershire Squad: Michael Klinger (c), Hamish Marshall, Ian Cockbain, Phil Mustard (w), Chris Dent, Benny Howell, Grame Van Buuren, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Andrew Tye, Tom Smith, Liam Norwell, Matt Taylor, Craig Miles, Jack Taylor
Andrew Tye has a message for all Gloucestershire supporters!!
Middlesex
Middlesex have never beaten Glos in T20s but won three Blast matches in a row before suffering defeat to Essex on Thursday.
Like Glos they have already qualified for the latter stages of the tournament but they travel to the Westcountry without England skipper Eoin Morgan and former Glos paceman James Fuller who both picked up injuries in the Royal London One-Day Cup defeat to Somerset on Wednesday.
Fresh from leading England Lions to a series win, Dawid Malan will captain a Middlesex side likely to include England fast bowler Steve Finn and recent Test squad member Toby Roland-Jones.
Middlesex Squad (possible): Dawid Malan (c), Martin Andersson, George Bailey, James Franklin, Steven Finn, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Ryan Higgins, Tim Murtagh, Harry Podmore, Ollie Rayner, Toby Roland-Jones, George Scott, John Simpson (w) , Nathan Sowter, Paul Stirling
Key Man
After a quiet start former Australia T20 captain George Bailey has hit his stride with half-centuries in his last two Blast innings (prior to the match v Essex on July 28).
The 2013-14 Ashes winner’s 76 off 44 balls in the win over Hampshire was his highest score in the format.
A veteran of 26 IT20s, the destructive right hander has also scored 2620 One Day International runs at an average of 40.93.
Opta Facts
- There have been eight previous meetings between these counties; all of them have been won by Gloucestershire.
- Gloucestershire have won seven of their last eight matches (L1).
- Middlesex have won back-to-back away games; they haven’t managed to go on a longer stretch since 2010 (three games).
- No batsman has posted more scores of 50+ than Gloucestershire’s Michael Klinger this summer (5).
Last Time We Met (NatWest T20 Blast)
June 2 at Merchant Taylors School
Middlesex 159-9 (20 overs) (Stirling 60, Howell 2-23)
Gloucestershire 163-6 (19.5 overs) (Dent 45, Roland-Jones 2-28)
Glos won by 4 wickets
Head-to-Head
| Gloucestershire | Middlesex | |
| Played | 8 | 8 |
| Won | 8 | 0 |
| Lost | 0 | 8 |
| Tied | 0 | 0 |
| Win % | 100 | 0 |
