ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 29, 2022

Glenn Phillips

Sydney Cricket Ground

New Zealand

Post Match Media Conference

New Zealand - 167/7, Sri Lanka - 102

THE MODERATOR: Thanks very much for joining us again for this post match press conference New Zealand versus Sri Lanka. We're joined by player of the match Glenn Phillips.

Q. Glenn, congratulations. How does that rank among your best knocks for New Zealand?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I think it's probably going to be at the top. I do have one other 100, and that was pretty special as well, but to be able to do it on a World Cup stage just adds a little bit more juice to it, which is kind of cool.

To be able to have a World Cup win in front of a sticky situation is actually the most satisfying part. The boys all did their roles. Everyone came together. It's not necessarily about one specific performance. It was actually an overall team effort.

The communication that me and Daryl had, the way that the ball was bowled up front, it was all crucial to the win today.

Q. You went off during the second innings with what seemed to be cramps. Is that all okay?

GLENN PHILLIPS: Yeah, unfortunately, the heat and the wickets, I don't think we hit a boundary for ages, it felt like forever in the middle of one stage. We just kept trying to run as much as possible, and I think that eventually got to me by the fielding minutes.

I try to get out there. I love to be out there with the boys. Unfortunately, the cramp got the better of me today.

Q. What were those conversations with Daryl like just after the power play? Did you have a final target in mind? Were you like let's just get to ten overs and reassess? What were you guys about?

GLENN PHILLIPS: We didn't even talk targets actually. With Daryl, it's very much about intent and being positive. For us it wasn't necessarily about hitting boundaries and forcing sixes because the pitch might not have necessarily required it. For us it was the intent running between the wickets we wanted to show and show we had a bit of a presence especially with Sri Lanka on top at that stage.

The way Daryl's mind works, he doesn't think anything is out of reach. That guy is unbelievable. He believes he's born for situations that require tough decisions and tough processes. To have him out there with me in the middle was -- you know, it's pretty hard to describe when you're batting with someone like him.

But the momentum and the presence that he brings can switch an innings so quickly.

Q. Just on your running between the wickets as well, I know it's a feature of how you play, but that sprint to start you're having towards the back end, is that new thing? Have you done that? Is that something you've worked on? Is it a tactic to try, or was it just spur of the moment?

GLENN PHILLIPS: That was very much spur of the moment. I actually had my three-point start wrong, which my best mate's going to probably give me a little bit of stick for later on. It's supposed to be the other arm and other leg.

I guess the position was to be able to see the bowlers and take off as quick as possible. From a sprinter's start when you're trying not to be out of the crease as much as possible -- there's been a lot going around about Mankads and leaving the crease. At the end of the day, it's my responsibility to make sure that I'm in the crease and leave at the right time. If the bowler is doing his job, then he has the right to be able to take the bails off.

For me to be able to get into that start, that position as quick as possible, it just made sense.

Q. What were the conditions like out there to bat? It just looks like very early on the new ball was doing a fair bit. There was inconsistent bounce on the pitch. I guess how did you find it as your innings went on?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I think early on Kane probably got the worst of it in terms of the swing and the bounce. I was lucky enough that I only faced pace in the fifth over, and by that time, I felt the ball had probably stopped swinging, which was luck. There was probably a lot of luck that played into things today.

The way the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled with the back of their hand slow balls, those were a little bit invariable. Some would pop off aggressively, and some would stay quite low, which made things quite tough.

Hence the reason the running between the wickets became quite crucial. Whether we mis-hit it or not, we were trying to put the fielders under as much pressure as possible.

Q. You mentioned luck. What was going through your mind when you hit that catch down there at the third of long off?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I still feel like it was the right choice and the right option, but with how Hasaranga bowls, the lowness of his bounce, it's a pretty tough option to be able to get it as wide as I wanted to get it. I hit it pretty nicely, but unfortunately, it just wasn't wide enough.

At the end of the day, luck definitely does play a lot in this game, and today I was on the right end of the luck.

Q. Just finally, you've had great memories here in Sydney, obviously test debut, that catch last weekend. You must be enjoying playing here at the moment?

GLENN PHILLIPS: It's a fantastic ground. The crowd were absolutely phenomenal today. The Sri Lankan and the New Zealand crowd showed in good numbers, very good numbers. I think it was 15,000 or so, which was fantastic.

There was great noise. It was a great atmosphere. The pitches were prepared beautifully. It's a pretty great place to play cricket.

Q. Very well played. What do you value more in the way you played, power hitting or innovation?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I'm probably going to have to say power hitting, but I'm always trying to come up with different ways to make a bowler think, whether it's skipping across to the wide line or giving myself a ridiculous amount of room. At the end of the day, it's also a lot of mind games involved and understanding that, once the ball is released, the power is the side that I do possess.

Some guys are definitely going to stay a lot more innovative and better at it than I am, so I try to mix the two together. But definitely power is the side I have to turn to most.

Q. Believe it or not, we're both from East London.

GLENN PHILLIPS: Happy to see a fellow countryman (laughter).

Q. When last have you been back there?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I've never actually been back home. My brother went once when he was probably about 16. I never had the opportunity to go back. I thought at some stage I'd have a cricket tour over there, and it just hasn't happened yet.

I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to go there. I haven't seen my extended family over there since I moved when I was 5. I've seen them when they come over to New Zealand, but I've never actually been back, but I'm really excited to go at some stage.

Q. Glenn, just a word on Trent Boult and his four wickets today? What does he bring to the team? How important is he to your success in this tournament?

GLENN PHILLIPS: He brings a phenomenal amount of energy, I'd tell you that. His bowling skills have come so far. The experience and the years that he's played, whether it's at the IPL or for international levels and anywhere around the world.

He brings so much skill, so much temperament. He seems to know what the bat is going to do before he's even bowled it. He's got so many deliveries under his belt that, when they all come together and things go right, things like 4 for 13 happen. It's great to see.

And he leads our seam attack, both him and Southee lead it with -- it's pretty hard to find two guys that work well together like they do. Obviously we've got Lockie as a bit of fire power there as well.

Q. We've seen some footage of Trent Boult batting in the nets and commentating. It's been good to watch. What are the chances of him coming up as a pinch hitter in the tournament?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I know he did it for Rajasthan a little bit, but I don't think he would actually enjoy that as much as you think he does. He very much enjoys the nets. My goodness, he's great fun to watch. And even when he comes out in the game, it's absolutely brilliant.

But I don't think with the lineup we've got we'll see him pinch hitting any time soon.

Q. Just to go back to the sprinting start, if I may. You said spur of the moment, but have you seen someone do that before that you got the idea from, or was it just in your head then? Do you think we might -- T20 cricket is so much about innovation. Do you sort of think in a year's time we might see more people doing it after what we saw you do tonight?

GLENN PHILLIPS: That's a good question. The real reason I did it was the position I was getting into, if I had my bat behind the crease, I thought it was actually slower to turn and accelerate off. Hence the reason for having my foot inside the crease and going from there.

So who knows? Maybe some people will use it. Maybe some people won't. Obviously the extension of the bat being in the crease gives you another extra foot or two, but at the end of the day, I've got little arms. So my speed is probably going to get me a little bit further than my reaches.

Q. Obviously, 2 from 2 with the washout, but it puts you guys in a pretty good start as far as the back half of this group goes. How important, or how much momentum do you feel like you got out of these two big wins? How much does that mean in T20 cricket which obviously is a game that can turn pretty quickly?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I think momentum in tournaments like this is absolutely crucial, but at the end of the day, we try to bring it to one ball at a time and try to stick to one situation and win that situation.

Having that process driven focus allows us to go through one game at a time because every team in this competition has the ability to rock over another. For us, we're treating every game with that respect and trying to do the best that we can with any given situation, whatever pitch we've shown up with or whether the weather plays a part in it as well.

Q. A bit of a running commentary from yourself at times on the stump, your misses and stuff like that. Nothing dodgy, don't worry. Is that part of your sort of process, or is that something that you need to sort of cut down on by expressing that frustration when you miss the slower balls and things like that?

GLENN PHILLIPS: At the end of the day, it is an entertainment product. I do know there's stump mics there. At the end of the day, for me it's about having as much fun as possible and showing the sort of emotion that I'm feeling at the time. Sometimes it's for good, and sometimes it's for bad. Hopefully more good than bad.

I guess for me it's about enjoying the game as much as possible, and if I'm letting out the emotion, especially when I'm enjoying it -- it's such a failure sport. If there's things that we can enjoy in the little moments and the times that we're out there, we're in front of 15,000 people, we may as well enjoy it and have fun.

Q. Is that something you've sort of come to appreciate, maybe compared to when you first came into international cricket, that you're a pretty expressive, emotional guy and you can sort of ride that wave rather than worrying about it?

GLENN PHILLIPS: Yeah, I think I understand that my mental process allows that riding of the wave to come in and then go. Then stick to the game plan, start the process again, and move forward with one ball at a time and trying to make each individual ball a win for me.

With the process that I've got at the moment, it's allowing me to have more wins, whether it's the right shot or the wrong shot. Sometimes you can get away with playing the wrong shot. So I understand for myself there's things that I can win at that don't necessarily reflect in runs, wickets, or catches. Then the game becomes a little bit more enjoyable.

I've definitely noticed that I've had a lot more fun out there because there's more things that I'm succeeding at.

Q. Glenn, my question is that when you came in the middle, the top order went back to the pavilion without touching the double digit. What was your mindset at the moment when you came in the middle and scoring a brilliant hundred? What was your mindset in the starting, when you started your batting?

GLENN PHILLIPS: While Kane was still out there or once Daryl arrived?

Q. When top order of the field, when three batsmen went back without touching the double digits, what was your mindset at the moment?

GLENN PHILLIPS: I guess while Kane was out there, it was still very much understanding that we do need to be aggressive, but obviously once we lost three on the power play, the mindset changed to the intent and the presence being shown through the running between the wickets.

For us, neither myself or Daryl are players that are going to back down from a challenge. And Daryl believes he's made for situations like this. He does it every time, time and time again. So having him there to be able to create that belief in myself as well, to understand that for us intent looks different at one stage of innings to another.

And to be clear out there, we try to talk about communication as much as possible on the side, and the communication that both myself and him had about the intent of running through the wickets was crucial for that patch to get us through to the 13 over, 14 over mark before we were able to launch.