SHANE Warne might have described Phil Mustard as England's wicketkeeper-in-waiting, but Dale Benkenstein has warned the country's selectors not to pick the 24-year-old at such an early stage of his development.

Mustard has excelled with both bat and gloves this season, finishing Durham's successful Friends Provident Trophy campaign as the competition's leading batsman and claiming more first-class catches than any other wicketkeeper in the country.

With England's one-day side crying out for both a reliable gloves-man and a destructive influence at the top of the order, some of the country's leading observers have begun to call for Mustard's inclusion in the one-day party that will travel to Sri Lanka and New Zealand this winter.

Those calls reached a crescendo at the weekend, with Warne comparing the North-Easterner to legendary Australian Adam Gilchrist after witnessing his explosive hitting at first hand at Lord's.

Benkenstein, who can claim at some of the credit for promoting Mustard to the top of Durham's one-day batting line-up, has always been one of the youngster's most committed supporters.

But after watching Liam Plunkett's career stagnate after he was fast-tracked into the international set-up only to be unceremoniously cast aside at the first sign of inconsistency, the Durham skipper has warned the England selectors not to make the same mistake twice.

"The Colonel's (Mustard) had a very good season and shown a lot of good signs," said Benkenstein. "He's working hard at his game now and he's probably moved forward quicker than the other young players.

"But at the same time, he's still new to county cricket. If he's consistently playing well, and he can produce these performances over two or three seasons, then he'll be ready to play international cricket.

"International cricket is damn hard and sometimes, if you keep picking guys just because they've had one good season, it can often work the other way round. You harm their development rather than help it. If you're not careful, international cricket can crucify you.

"I think his time will come, but I would like to see him keep doing what he's doing for a little while yet."

In particular, Benkenstein would like to see Mustard develop more consistency and patience on the four-day stage.

While the Sunderland-born keeper averages more than 42 in one-day matches this season, that par score drops to just 27.56 in Championship cricket.

Despite Durham's push for the title, Mustard is yet to score a Championship century this season and, while his keeping has remained rock solid, Benkenstein has admitted that his team-mate will ultimately be judged on his ability to accumulate three-figure scores on the four-day stage.

"He needs to get bigger scores and bat longer in four-day cricket," said the South African. "His keeping has improved, but even in one-day cricket he needs to learn how to finish innings.

"He keeps getting these great starts, but we're lucky that we have other players who can continue that.

"He needs to go and get hundreds. When Gilchrist gets going, he bats right through and gets 120s or 130s. Phil's good enough to do something like that, but I think he still has a few steps to go before he's ready for international cricket."

To his credit, Mustard accepts that he is far from the finished article. While others have been quick to promote his international prospects above the likes of Matt Prior, Chris Read and Geraint Jones, he has consistently sought to downplay the likelihood of him making it into an England squad in the foreseeable future.

Warne's glowing tribute has made it harder to keep a lid on expectations, but the commendably down-to-earth Mustard is not about to run before he feels he can walk.

"It's always good when you hear a big name like Shane Warne saying that you're one of the best keepers in the country and you should be playing for England," he said.

"But my job is to play for Durham and I'll keep on focusing on that. If anything happens after that, I'll look on it as a bonus.

"I think I've been pretty consistent in one-day cricket this season, but I know I have to improve that side of my game in the four-day game.

"I've had a lot of innings this season that have been in the 40s or 50s, and I know I have to start converting some of those into centuries. I'm disappointed that I haven't had a hundred yet in the Championship, but I'm sure that time will come."