Mustard the key ingredient for Glos - new signing could make home debut v Middlesex on Friday
27 July 2016
Loan signing Phil Mustard is set to make his Gloucestershire debut against Surrey in the Royal London One-Day Cup match on July 27.
The 33-year-old wicketkeeper has joined Glos from Durham until the end of the season following the injury to captain Gareth Roderick.
Home fans are likely to get their first glimpse of him in a Glos shirt in Friday night’s crucial NatWest T20 Blast game against Middlesex. For tickets go to www.gloscricket.co.uk/tickets
Here is all you need to know about the man known as The Colonel…
A destructive left handed batsman and safe pair of hands behind the stumps Mustard was compared with Australian great Adam Gilchrist during his early career.
Durham born and bred he spent 16 years with his home county, scoring more than 7000 runs in 185 First Class appearances. He also captained the club and played a key role in each of the club’s three County Championship winning sides.
But it is in the shorter forms of the game that the Colonel has made his name.
An ever-present in white ball cricket for Durham this season he made 140 domestic T20 appearances for the club and is currently the highest ever runscorer in English domestic T20 competitions with 3207 runs. He also holds the club’s record for highest individual T20 score (91) and most one-day centuries in a season (3).
To watch a video of some of the highlights of Phil's career click below:
He caught the England selectors’ eye in 2007 with a swashbuckling 49 off 38 balls to help Durham win the Friends Provident final at Lord’s. Mustard was picked for the winter tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand, going on to win 10 One Day International caps and playing in two International T20 matches.
Although his England career didn’t take off he continued to be a consistent match-winner with Durham.
Mustard played two games on loan for Lancashire at the end of 2015, helping them secure the Division 2 title. He has also represented Barisal Burners in the Bangladesh Premier League and Mountaineers in Zimbabwe.
This season is his benefit year although he will miss his own benefit match this Friday after agreeing to join Gloucestershire.
Following the announcement of the move Phil took to Twitter:
Looking forward to helping @Gloscricket till the end of season. Great opportunity for me to play all forms of the game.
— phil mustard (@colonel19) 25 July 2016
The Colonel in numbers:
- 3207 - runs in English domestic T20. No player has scored more.
- 6 - major trophies won, 3 County Championships, 1 Friends Provident Trophy and 1 Royal London One-Day Cup - all with Durham and a Zimbabwean domestic T20 title with Mountaineers.
- 12 - England caps, 10 One Day Internationals and 2 IT20s.
- 99 – dismissals in English domestic T20 cricket. He is second on the all-time list – just three behind Essex’s James Foster. 99 is also the number of First Class games he played consecutively at one point.
- 7,434 - runs in 185 First Class matches for Durham (second in appearances only to Paul Collingwood) across 16 years as a professional with the club.
What they say…
Glos head coach Richard Dawson said: “He brings with him vast experience and match winning abilities .”
Durham chief executive David Harker said: "Phil has been a fantastic servant. He embodies competitive spirit, loyalty and skill and will be greatly missed by everyone at Durham.”
Responding to the news on Twitter England’s 2005 Ashes winner Simon Jones said:
Go well @colonel19 at @Gloscricket great loan signing
— Simon Jones MBE (@si610) 26 July 2016
Did you know?
Mustard was a talented schoolboy footballer who was on the books of both Manchester United and Middlesbrough before cricket came calling.
His cousin is Durham seamer Chris Rushworth.
