New Delhi [India], January 6 : Glenn Phillips has never quite fitted into conventional cricketing moulds. The right-handed batter, two days prior the New Year, during a Super Smash T20 match, Phillips took guard the wrong way around, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Thinking differently has always been Phillips' strength.
"I do enjoy my left-handed batting training," Phillips said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Obviously, I do it for multiple reasons. One, just to keep both hands and both sides of the brain working, but also just for the opportunity to, I guess, take down left-arm spin at some stage," he added.
In T20 cricket, a ball turning away from the batter is widely considered a favourable match-up. This is why teams often prefer left-arm orthodox spinners, given that the majority of batters across levels are right-handed. Phillips' take-down of Jayden Lennox last Tuesday offered a glimpse into a new tactical possibility, although it is unlikely to become a regular feature immediately.
"It's more of a future thing," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"But for the opportunity to come in a game where there's going to be a lot of left-arm off-spin bowling, I guess it sort of made sense to give it a go and bring it back to the forefront of the training leading into that game. And the fact that the opportunity came during the game to use it was quite good," he added.
Interestingly, Lennox attempted to counter the sudden disadvantage by bowling wide outside off stump, hoping to take away Phillips' hitting arc. The strategy was aimed at preventing Phillips from slogging. However, the plan did not quite succeed, with Phillips showing his ability to hit cleanly straight down the line even from the altered stance.
"I've always been able to bat left-handed," Phillips said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"It's something I've done since I was young. I was going to switch when I was about 10 years old and actually bat left-handed full-time, but I decided to stick with the right hand, as I was just a little bit too lazy to take it fully," he added.
"And then probably around 20 years old, Super Smash-wise, I thought it was a great opportunity to be able to play left-arm spin bowling, considering every team has a left-arm orthodox. So I started working on (it) a bit more, facing pace bowlers in the nets, as well as the spinners, just to, I guess, really tune things in and work on it properly," he noted.
"And obviously it's been a few years since it's really had a chance to come out in the pipeline. But yeah, as I said, for it to actually pay off and for years of work to come out on the field was really quite cool," he said.
Several factors need to align for Phillips to fully unleash his left-handed version. In one domestic match, with just two balls remaining and his team Otago Volts comfortably placed at 186/6, Phillips was unbeaten on 83 when he decided to take guard as a left-hander.
"It's just trusting the training and understanding that I've just got to watch the ball as much as possible and I guess know that I've done the work and I've done the preparation and so there's no reason it shouldn't work. But also, I guess, I generally have used it in the situation where there's nothing left to lose. There's a couple overs left and it's now time for a bit of fun, I guess, really," he added.
Looking ahead, the bigger stage looms in the form of a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent. Before that, New Zealand will get a preview of Indian conditions during a seven-match ODI and T20I series against India starting on January 11. While none of the venues for the bilateral series will host World Cup matches, Phillips' evolving approach could still be one to watch closely.
"The preparation is going to be perfect," Phillips said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Obviously, the conditions may be a little bit different to what we'll actually get in the World Cup. You never quite know what sort of pitches people will produce, especially if we're playing subcontinent teams. They tend to try and produce something that's a little bit more spin-friendly. But when we're on this T20 and ODI tour, they tend to produce pitches that are really quite good."
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