Dan Mousley is aiming to be the main man for the Birmingham Phoenix

The 2022 tournament finished with the Warwickshire all-rounder having scored just four runs in two matches for the Birmingham Phoenix.

But Mousley is poised to play a much more significant part this time around, following his starring role for the Bears in this summer’s T20 Blast.

The 22-year-old was among the players of the tournament, scoring 263 runs at an average of more than 20 with the bat and taking 21 wickets with the ball, in a Warwickshire team which topped the North Group for the second year running.

And though he admits the pain of last month’s quarter-final defeat to Essex still lingers, the focus is on carrying his individual white ball form into the shorter, yet more high profile Hundred.

“This year’s Blast definitely felt like a breakthrough for me,” he says. “I got trusted with the bat, trusted with the ball and it came out really well.

“Not making Finals Day was gutting but as a team we are heading in the right direction and I know I am too.

“It was all about the trust I was shown. It makes life so much easier when you know your team-mates back you.”

Mousley’s potential as a batsman had been clear from his earliest outings as a professional but the Blast also underlined his ability as a bowler in the shortest format.

Impressive though the raw statistics are, even they don’t tell the full story of a campaign in which he was frequently the man to make the crucial breakthrough.

Several stunning catches proved he is no slouch in the field either.

“I was given the opportunity to have a pivotal role and it was all about performing,” he says. “When the captain gives you that confidence to go and bowl, it makes such a difference.

“I knew I was going to get overs. It’s all about standing up and proving you can do it.”

The Phoenix, likely to be missing England trio Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes for tonight’s opener at the Northern Superchargers, will need Mousley to be near top form and he is certainly eager to oblige.

Now in its third season, The Hundred continues to have its critics and questions over the competition’s future linger.

Yet the exposure it gives the sport and in turn young, emerging players like Mousley cannot be denied. Three of Birmingham men’s eight group matches will be broadcast live by the BBC. That includes Saturday’s visit of Trent Rockets, which will be played at Edgbaston in front of sold-out stands. Only limited tickets remain for the other three home fixtures.

The opportunity to boost his profile to a wide audience is not lost on Mousley.

“I love playing in front of a packed-out Edgbaston and this is the stage you want to do it on,” he says.

“If you can perform here, it can hopefully open doors to go and play in other franchise leagues, or even to go on and play for England one day.

“The Hundred is the big stage in this country. As players, we thrive off that. We want to open those doors.”

Mousley is speaking on the morning of the final day of the fifth Ashes Test and at one point there is a break in the questioning, to allow interviewers and interviewee a moment to check whether England have made any further inroads to the Australian batting line-up.

Like most players, Mousley was transfixed by the series and as a naturally aggressive batsman who has made no secret of his ambition to one day grace the international stage, the approach adopted by England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has obvious appeal.

“It’s exciting,” he says. “All the youngsters now want to put bat to ball, that is just the way cricket is being played.

“What England are doing is definitely filtering into the county game. A lot of teams this year are taking the positive option. At Warwickshire, all we talk about is winning.

“Even when things are going against us, we try to find a way. A lot of times you can win matches just by having that mindset.

“I have always been aggressive but it gives you more confidence when the coaches are telling you to go and take the more positive option.

“There have been times this year where they have told me to go and play your way. When the coaches are backing you, there is no real fear anymore.

“That doesn’t mean it is always going to go right. But if they tell me to play my way they know 90 per cent of the time it is going to come off.”