Hot Mustard serves up a batting treat
Jul 2 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
PHIL Mustard is often credited with being the joker in the Durham pack for his dressing-room antics – and he is also starting to show he can be a reliable trump card with the bat.
A splendidly-constructed and unbeaten 63 against Worcestershire yesterday was Mustard’s third half-century of the season at number seven and his second in as many home games in the Championship. Significantly, for those who are looking for players who can perform under pressure, both have come when Durham’s specialist batting has failed to score the runs required to post a competitive first innings total.
While his recent success in the crash and wallop of Twenty20 cricket sits comfortably with his naturally aggressive style of play, the manner in which he is starting to adapt his skills for the different needs of four day cricket is hugely encouraging. When Mustard (pictured right) first emerged from the ever-productive Durham Academy, his explosive batting style earned him premature comparisons with Australia’s peerless wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist – but too often The Colonel’s temperament let him down.
Yet, there is new sense of maturity in Mustard’s play to go with the constant chirping behind the stumps, and fatherhood appears to sit well with him. At 26, Mustard has already played in 10 one-day internationals for England and he has the time to find the consistency with the bat which will force him back into the international reckoning. His innings against Worcestershire yesterday was a classic example of how to manage the lower order as he skilfully protected his two final partners Mitch Claydon and Mark Davies while attacking anything vaguely loose from the Worcestershire attack. He shared a stand of 31 with Claydon and 23 with Davies as Durham turned a disastrous 59-6 into a slim one-run first-innings lead, with Mustard’s ability to find the boundary with an impressive array of attacking strokes chipping away at Worcestershire’s lead – and with it their confidence.
The clip off his pads to dispatch Chris Whelan to the boundary was clever, but the perfect pull which sent the dangerous Kabir Ali for four was the pick of a number of bold shots.
