New Zealand international Glenn Philips has signed a deal with Gloucestershire and will represent them for the full duration of the Vitality T20 Blast. The 24-year-old who has been a regular in the national colours in the recent past played all 14 home fixtures for New Zealand which included a stunning 108 of a mere 51 deliveries against the West Indies.
Replacing an experienced Ross Taylor, Philips has left a mark in the national colours. As far as Gloucestershire is concerned, Philips can also be a wicket-keeping option if James Bracey has to miss out on some part of the tournament due to national duties. Philips is a perfect three-dimension player who can also chip in with some useful overs with his off-spin.
An attacking middle-order batsman, Philips has improved quite significantly while playing against spin which started during his association with the Jamaica Tallwahs in the Caribbean Premier League. It is also reported that he could have been a proper backup option for the IPL franchises in the IPL auctions.
Philips will be available for the County Championship that takes place during the vitality Blast. More specifically he will be available for the matches against Middlesex and Hampshire. Philips is a solid long format batsman as well and will look to make a mark in his new venture.
Gloucestershire’s interim head coach Ian Harvey said that Philips is an exciting batsman to watch and he is looking forward to his journey with Gloucestershire.
"Glenn is very exciting to watch and he's going to add a massive amount to what is already a powerful T20 batting line-up. He can bat at the top of the order, in the middle and also add to our firepower at the end. He's a bit of an all-rounder because he bowls and keeps wicket as well so he will give us plenty of options.
"To have someone in your side with the ability to do pretty much everything is a huge bonus and his experience of playing around the world in franchise cricket is going to be a massive benefit for our players. He's played Test match cricket and can keep wicket so he gives us plenty of options if we want to bring him in for red-ball games."