The sun had just finished setting when Dan Mousley took the ball to bowl his second set of five. The Trent Rockets needed ten runs on the last ten balls to secure a 3-0 start to the 2024 Hundred season. Tim Southee wrapped up his set with two wickets, but he also gave up 11 runs. The set before that, Adam Milne conceded ten runs himself, and it started to look like Trent would continue their season undefeated.
Then the unbelievable happened. Dan Mousley, who took no wickets in his first two games for the 1-1 Birmingham Phoenix, caught fire. His first two balls were scoreless dots, followed by one of the best yorkers you will ever see that sent Lewis Gregory back to the pavilion. His next two slicers to Imad Wasim and Rashid Khan got one run each. That meant the Rockets needed eight runs on the last five balls, and Mousley stayed on as bowler.
Mousley finished the final set of the night with a dot, a single, a clean-bowled wicket to Rashid Khan, a pop-up catch out from Jordan Mousley, and a dot to end the game. And with that, the Birmingham Phoenix took out the undefeated Rockets in Trent before a stunned and silenced crowd. So, now fantasy managers want to know if Dan Mousley is worth looking into. Here is a detailed report of the sensational all-rounder getting all the buzz.
Dan Mousley 2023 The Hundred Performance
Born in 2001 in Birmingham, Mousley is still waiting to play for England in international cricket. He does, however, participate in domestic cricket. Mousley plays for the International League T20 MI Emirates and Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament. He has been with the Birmingham Phoenix since the 2022 Hundred season.
2023 Batting Stats
In the 2023 Hundred season, Dan Mousley finished roughly in the middle of the batter rankings. He played five innings and scored a total of 50 runs. In comparison, top batter Jos Buttler batted ten innings and scored 391. Mousley also only scored four boundaries and one maximum the entire season.
2023 Bowling Stats
Mousley finished in the bottom ten of the 2023 Hundred bowlers, playing in five games but bowling in only three. He bowled 14 balls, gave up 18 runs, and took just one wicket in those three games. With numbers like that, it is easy to see why many opponents and fantasy managers overlook him.
A Steady Increase This 2024 Season
Dan Mousley’s performance is improving each game. In the 2024 season-opening loss, he scored only one run off three balls and took no wickets in his only set of bowling. In his second game, a win at Lord’s over the London Spirit, Mousley still took zero wickets in two sets but scored 39 runs at the crease. That was the second-best performance for the game-winning team. And this latest match saw him take a game-high three wickets in three sets.
Where Do You Place Him?
The 2-1 Phoenix next play the 1-1 Southern Brave at home on August 3. Fantasy cricket managers know that all-rounders make the best captains since they score points at both ends of the ball. And Dan Mousley is a batting all-rounder, the best of both worlds. The question is not whether he should start or sit. The question is, do fantasy managers place him as squad captain or vice-captain on August 3?
Final Thoughts
The best option is to wait and see. Place Mousley in the line-up at a bargain price and save the captain spots for a more reliable veteran. Dan Mousley took his three wickets against the Trent late order in moments when their batters had to swing for the boundary ropes. A team that doesn’t find itself in a situation where a Dan Mousley yorker is a make-or-break moment is a team where he is his least effective. Wait to crown him, but expect him to appear on the England Test squad soon.
