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Black Caps fans may be getting horribly used to Glenn Phillips’ kneecap, but their new batting hero doesn’t want it to become a habit.
For the second consecutive Twenty20 international game, Phillips popped his right kneecap while hitting, before quickly snapping back to his place to allow him to continue his innings.
The best part of the latest incident, a rerun of Friday night’s opening horror show at Eden Park, was that it came after New Zealand’s mid-order bat scored the fastest Twenty20 international century (with 46 balls) in the brief history of your country in the shortest format.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Glenn Phillips of New Zealand celebrates his century during the second game of the International Twenty20 series against the West Indies at Bay Oval.
Phillips posted a record 108, with eight sixes and 10 fours in 51 deliveries, before falling in the final after another sore moment in the kneecap.
However, he was quick to reject the idea that it could be his lucky charm.
“No, no, no,” he said hastily after the game after NZ closed out a series win with a sweeping 72-run win at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
Phillips said he first encountered the problem while in high school, playing hockey and soccer.
“My knee subluxed (a partial dislocation) … both knees have.”
“It’s quite fun because at the moment it’s a scare and it hurts a lot, but he comes back and recovers just as quickly. The ligaments around the knee are a little weak now. “
So don’t worry fans if you witness it again.
What is now a growing possibility after the Aucklander, turning 24 in a week, showed what it had long been predicted to accomplish at the highest level.
Before walking to the fold Sunday with his side two down in stormy and rainy conditions, his international T20 average was 16.20, with a best score of 56.
That quickly became history, as did Colin Munro’s previous record of fastest to 100 at T20 for NZ when Phillips outwitted him with a ball to spare. It hit eight sixes and ten fours, making the most of the wind when it hit south.
He recognized that his start in international cricket was not easy, which means that changes and introspection were needed.
SPARK SPORT
Black Caps hitter Glenn Phillips breaks Colin Munro’s record of 47 balls while it rains six at Bay Oval.
“I started well, I received the yips personally, I had to go back and work on things and take a step back to move forward.
“When I played Pakistan a few years ago, they came in through my hip. I didn’t really have an answer, a lot of guys gave me roominess or beat me up and I got away with it.
“But in international cricket, when the kids don’t give you what you want, you have to adapt. My bat was coming the wrong way. “
So who better to model yourself on the road to success than Australian treadmill Steve Smith?
“I don’t completely copy it, but the idea of where my bat lands has a lot to do with it,” he said of his unorthodox stance.
“My whole shoulder can be re-aligned instead of starting in line and coming back out of line. The movement of my feet is to be able to make my body move in time to have the highest rhythm and to keep my head as still as possible. “
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Glenn Phillips breaks another boundary on the way to his century.
While he struggled to make his mark internationally, he has thrived in the Caribbean Premier League’s T20 competition and said it was a huge boost to his confidence after initial problems.
“In the Caribbean, in my first year there, I really struggled with the effect
“We don’t have to worry about the balls spinning or staying low here. I took it for granted that you could cross the line and basically go to point six. That is not the case there.
“The problem is not necessarily how to find the limit, the problem is to be able to find the ones in the middle and not put myself under pressure.”
On Sunday, in full control, he and Devon Conway took the game away from the Windies with a third field of 184 in just 13.3 overs which was the best for any terrain for NZ at T20.
“We decided to give each other a couple of overs, but by the time we both got going it was 11, 12 overs and we have a very deep batting lineup so the kill phase could start much earlier, especially with the hurricane wind in one direction. ”Phillips said.
Such was his demolition job that Conway’s brilliant 65 on 37 balls (four sixes and four fours) in just his second international game was somewhat overshadowed.
“It is an incredible day,” he acknowledged.
“You don’t have them very often.
“Part of what I do is try to be a cheerleader for the crowd. With the crowd back, the whole team wanted to give them something special. “
