Who is Dan Mousley - 5 interesting facts about Birmingham Phoenix all-rounder going viral for his death bowling
Dan Mousley stunned cricket fans with his sensational performance in the death overs of yesterday's Men's Hundred 2024 match between Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets. He bowled the last 10 balls of Rockets' innings and defended 10 runs successfully.
Phoenix won the match by six runs, thanks to Dan Mousley's heroics. It is pertinent to note that the likes of Lewis Gregory, Imad Wasim and Rashid Khan were among the batters, who faced the last 10 balls bowled by Mousley.
While some fans would think that Mousley would be a traditional fast bowler or spinner, he is a rare bowler who can bowl fast off-spin. He nailed his yorkers while bowling at a quick pace with a short run-up and bamboozled the batters. Just a few days ago, Mousley came into the limelight for an unbelievable catch in a Men's Hundred game as well.
Before the English all-rounder becomes a superstar in T20 cricket, here's a look at five things fans should know about Dan Mousley.
#1 Dan Mousley made his first-class debut under Jeetan Patel's captaincy
Mousley started his first-class career in July 2019, turning up for Warwickshire against Essex. Former New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel captained Warwickshire in that game, while the Essex team featured big names like Alastair Cook, Simo Harmer, Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Peter Siddle.
Captain Patel did not give a single over to Mousley on his first-class debut. The debutant managed only three runs in his two innings of that game, with Harmer dismissing him on both occasions.
#2 Dan Mousley has played domestic cricket in Sri Lanka
It may surprise a few fans but Mousley's last List-A appearance came in 2021, and it was for Burgher Recreation Club in Sri Lanka's Major Clubs Limited Overs Tournament. Mousley opened the batting for Burgher against Nugegoda SWC and smashed a match-winning century.
Overall, Mousley has played nine List-A matches, scoring 338 runs at a strike rate of 95.48. He hit a fantastic fifty on his List-A debut for Warwickshire as well.
#3 Mousley's association with Mumbai Indians
While Mousley is yet to play in the IPL, he has been a part of Mumbai Indians' sister franchise MI Emirates in UAE's International League T20. He was a part of the MI Emirates team that won the ILT20 trophy earlier this year.
The all-rounder played only two matches for MI Emirates, scoring 13 runs and picking up three wickets. In ILT20 2023, Mousley aggregated 70 runs and took two wickets for his team.
#4 Dan Mousley was the top scorer for England in U-19 World Cup 2020
Mousley has already proven himself as a match-winner for England at the U-19 level. The all-rounder made it to the England U-19s squad for the U-19 World Cup in 2020, where he scored 241 runs in five innings at an average of 80.33.
Notably, he scored a half-century against Australia U-19s, which featured the likes of Tanveer Sangha and Todd Murphy in the bowling attack.
#5 Dan Mousley has played in PSL and Abu Dhabi T10
Apart from ILT20, Mousley also has the experience of playing in the Pakistan Super League and Abu Dhabi's T10 League. He has represented Peshwar Zalmi in the PSL, while in the T10 League, he played for home side Team Abu Dhabi.
In the PSL, he played only one game, where he scored 11 runs. It will be interesting to see if other franchises show interest in this unique all-rounder in the upcoming cricket season.