Lancashire have announced the emergency signing of Durham wicketkeeper Phil Mustard following the sudden news of Alex Davies' knee injury.
Davies is one of only three Lancashire players to feature in all 14 Championship matches this season, having scored 730 runs at an average of 40.56, but his untimely injury has forced the Red Rose to sign the more experienced Mustard for their crucial fixture against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford.
James Anderson has been made available for this meeting between first and second place in the second division and could make his first appearance for Lancashire since he featured against Sussex at Hove in 2014.
Davies collected the injury on Finals Day in the semi-final, but he has been unable to return to full fitness since his Man of the Match performance, which secured a maiden T20 trophy for Lancashire against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston. Mustard has therefore signed for Lancashire for the final two Championship games of the season, as the Red Rose aim to leapfrog Surrey and return to the first division with their second trophy of the summer.
Mustard joins Lancashire after playing in only five Championship matches for Durham this season, with a return of just 51 runs in seven innings in that time. The 32-year-old has hit 7,557 first-class runs in his career, but Michael Richardson has taken over wicket-keeping duties at Chester-le-Street this season, claiming 42 dismissals already this season in the first division.
Lancashire's director of cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "Alex has played tremendously well for us this season and to lose him at this stage is a blow.
"But Phil has a tremendous pedigree and will slot into the squad seamlessly for two games as we hope to finish the season with another trophy," he added.
Davies has scored seven half-centuries in the County Championship this season and his seventh score of fifty or more helped Lancashire to secure a final-day draw against Kent, cementing promotion to the first division for Giles's side.
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