Glenn Phillips and the hits and misses of playing at the sub continent
Phillips got bowled off Deepak Hooda's bowling in Lucknow (Associated Press)
If a single dismissal could capture just how this soon-to-end tour of India has gone for Glenn Phillips, then perhaps rewinding back to the right-hander’s wicket in the second T20I at Lucknow would serve firm evidence.
An evidence of just how horribly ordinary has this exceptionally talented batsman been, of late.
Devon Conway had just departed and Deepak Hooda was introduced into the attack as the second change bowler.
With the score looking to get a move on at 35-2, the Blackcaps would further slip into an ebb of darkness.
On the penultimate delivery of the part time spinner’s first over, Phillips attempted a reverse sweep even before he approached the line of the ball.
The delivery, a straight-ish one barring much turn went on to uproot his stumps; the suspect was nowhere near to the pitch of the ball.
Hooda was up in the air and the Kiwis were in shambles.
Phillips’ contribution- rather the lack of it- was 5 off 10.
Though it wouldn’t be the only time he’d depart sans a mighty contribution from the bat; his previous four white-ball scores read 17, 5, 36, and 11 here in India.
Though technically speaking, there doesn’t appear to be anything drastically wrong in the right hander’s batting, the runs, inadvertently, seemed to have dried up.
For a batsman whose game includes hitting sixes with much power and freedom, it’s a bit of an absurdity in fact to note that in these five outings away from home, Glenn Phillips has managed to hit a solitary hit over the fence.
Yet, he’s the same Glenn Phillips that was part of a bit of history in the making not too long ago and not many miles away from India and that too, in the very same month of this New Year.
It was the third ODI at the Karachi national stadium and Glenn Phillips was in his elements.
Offering big strokes on either side of the wicket, the 26-year-old, stroked a dashing 63 off just 42 deliveries.
In the process of playing a very T20I style slam bam knock in that decisive one dayer, Phillips anchored his team to complete a series win, a first for his country in Pakistan in nearly a decade and a half.
He was all over the papers and rightly so.
Though not too long ago from the kryptonite of an effort with the bat at Karachi, Glenn Phillips was munching away the West Indies fast bowlers and spinners alike at Chris Gayle territory.
One of his most noticeable and successful outings in the short form came here at Kingston, Jamaica during the second and thus, decisive T20 international.
With the series hanging on the wire for the hosts, Phillips decided to electrocute a Holder, McCoy, Shepherd and Smith-led attack.
Scoring a whirlwind 76 off just 41 deliveries, the middle order mayhem creator rocked the West Indies.
He’d fire 6 sixes on his own; the rest of his teammates together accounted for 7. Ditto for the West Indies playing eleven.
For a batsman who though debuted in 2017 in international cricket but became a regular fixture for New Zealand not before 2020, Glenn Phillips has adapted well across the two white ball formats.
But on this listless India tour its seamless adaptability across both formats of the white ball game where Glenn Phillips has really struggled.
A sense of impetuousness can be spotted much too easily with the way the usually dominant batsman has gone about his batting in India.
One could argue that on more occasions than none, Phillips has manufactured his own downfall.
He’s been giving easy catches.
For a team already missing Kane Williamson and without Guptill, who could perhaps even be a former cricketer in the days to come, Glenn Phillips not performing is an oddity the team would’ve liked to skip.
What a failure from his bat does is that it realistically puts increased pressure on the likes of Devon Conway, a batsman singularly responsible for much of New Zealand’s scoring thus far.
This isn’t a team that has the services of Jimmy Neesham; the capable all rounder releasing himself from the central contract and playing occasionally.
With Finn Allen completely out of form and Daryl Mitchell firing occasionally, the present side appears worn out. Michael Bracewell’s towering century and subsequent failures in the next four innings following the highs at Hyderabad haven’t helped one bit.
What remains now is one last chance to sign off the sub continental outing with a high.
Can Glenn Phillips, therefore, bring up the runs and end what has been a dismal tour with some sort of a high? Only the third T20I can reveal that for guesswork won’t help.
Read More: IND vs NZ | 3rd T20I | Preview, Live Streaming, Probable Playing 11, Prediction
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