Mustard stands up to pressure

Phil Mustard stands up to some of the quicker bowlers in one-day cricket © Getty Images

Buy this photo

View photo story

Phil Mustard will stand up and be counted as England's one-day wicketkeeper as he attempts to finally end the debate about who can fill Alec Stewart's role behind the stumps.

Since Stewart retired in 2003, England have tried several candidates as they search for someone capable of consistently providing runs and good enough with the gloves to take important catches.

Durham wicketkeeper Mustard and Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose are the latest pair to be given a chance as they both compete to establish themselves during the one-day and Test series in New Zealand.

Runs will be important to both their causes, but already Mustard is making a strong case with superb displays of wicketkeeping in both warm-up matches and during Tuesday's opening Twenty20 International victory at Eden Park.

He showed his great agility to stop several wide deliveries during the early stages of Tuesday's match and also demonstrated bravery and technical ability by standing up to the stumps when facing new ball bowler James Anderson in addition to less pacy members of England's attack like Dimitri Mascarenhas, Paul Collingwood and Luke Wright.

"It's not a question of being brave," he explained. "You have to be relaxed and it's quite a simple job as long as you understand what you want to do.

"In Twenty20 or one-day cricket, the bowlers know where they want to bowl it and it's my job just to catch it - if it stops a batsman running down the wicket then it's done the job.

"We talk in the dressing room about different batsmen so we know when to do it."

Mustard has tried the tactic with Ottis Gibson and James Anderson © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Mustard claims his decision to stand up to the stumps against Anderson is not because the Lancashire seamer is slipping in pace, but more to do with the fact he gets less bounce than players like Stuart Broad or Steve Harmison.

He began standing up to Ottis Gibson, now England's bowling coach, last season for Durham in one-day matches but insists he is not daft enough to try to do the same to Steve Harmison.

"There isn't a cat in hell's chance of standing up to Harmy," stressed Mustard. "There is no chance I would ever do it to Harmison.

"Jimmy is quite quick as well, but he's more of a skiddy bowler so it's a little bit easier than standing up to Harmison.

"I love doing my keeping. I've worked hard over the last year and a half and now I've got an opportunity to try to stamp my authority on the position.

"I've had two or three different coaches who chucked different ideas at me and you take in as much as you want to take in and you learn from whatever they give you."

Yet Mustard could have been lost to cricket and the England team had his formative years in sport turned out differently and he could have instead been gracing the Premier League with either Manchester United or Middlesbrough.

A talented young sportsman, Mustard was on the books of both clubs before turning full-time to cricket but said: "It was never an option.

"I played a lot of football but once the cricket came along I went with that. I was on Manchester United's books and I was on Middlesbrough's books but at 16 years of age I got released from there and then cricket came in and I haven't looked back."