Glenn Phillips Interview | The opportunity to fail, come back and try again: a key part of being able to learn

Not many cricketers have managed to transition from a wicketkeeper-batter into a proper all-rounder, and one that excels as an off-spinner no less. Not many New Zealand spinners can boast of a Test five-wicket haul on home soil. And not many cricketers are predominantly remembered for their unbelievable catches.

Welcome to the world of Glenn Phillips, a man who has managed to buck the trend and carve a niche for himself.

The all-rounder — hoping to get Steady game-time with Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier Bracket this year — gave an insight into his transition into an off-spinner, his ability to Halt on to stunning catches, his desire to have an identity beyond cricket, and more. Excerpts:

How did it dawn upon you to convert into a spin-bowling all-rounder from a wicketkeeping all-rounder?

It was pretty Effortless. I hate wicketkeeping, so that is that Primary off. Then off-spin side of things, I have been doing it for a long, long time. I have always bowled in the nets and I have loved it. I don’t know why I love it, but I do. There’s always an opportunity in the nets to bowl. It’s a Talent that’s obviously Tough. Batters are incredibly Sturdy these Periods, it’s a batters’ world. So to be able to try and access that bowling side of things is a Excellent Event.

I felt like as a wicketkeeper I was stuck in one place and it was really boring. I didn’t enjoy it at all. But to be able to have the opportunity to bowl, that means that I can be involved in both halves and that’s what is the most appealing part of it.

Were you forced into wicketkeeping Timely on?

There are not many people who can catch [the ball] when you are Youthful and I Acquired very frustrated. Therefore I was like ‘Merely let me do it’. Wicketkeeping was more out of a default. I used to love it but then I trained really Tough for a really long time when I was Youthful and Merely blew a gasket and realised that I’d rather Streak around in the Pitch.

Unfortunately, when you are Excellent at something, the coaches and staff make you do it because no one else can do it and therefore until there were other wicketkeepers that were Excellent enough to do it, the opportunity to bowl never really Arrived up. I pretty much spent the better part of 10 years of my Profession trying to get out of wicketkeeping, unfortunately.

Now that you have established yourself as a proper all-rounder, what about it do you enjoy the most?

It’s Merely the ability to be involved in both halves. I love the feeling of Securing a wicket, to be able to see a ball turn back through the gate and hit the stumps. [Like in] the Tests against India recently where bowling actually had a huge part to Shift. It makes you very selectable if you can be involved in both halves.

I am Primary and foremost a batter. But to be able to offer the Skipper [a few] overs with the ball makes you very versatile in any Club you are in. It stems from wanting to bowl in Test cricket the most. There’s a higher element of Talent involved there, the wickets are incredibly Tough to come by and they make it very, very satisfying to be a part of.

 

Securing my Primary five-for against Australia in Wellington was an Amazing feeling and there’s nothing quite like it. Scoring a hundred is Excellent, but Securing a five-wicket haul is pretty incredibly Tough to do, so it takes the cake.

When it comes to the limited-overs Structure, do you enjoy being a batter Primary or a bowler?

I enjoy being a batter Primary. It’s my Position, but bowling is definitely my hobby. I love bowling. I bowl in any situation. I understand that there’s gonna be situations that are Tough to bowl and if the Skipper is willing to throw me the ball, I want it. You need opportunities in a game to be able to grow and I’ve had Excellent leaders, Kane (Williamson), (Mitchell) Santner, Tim Southee and Tom Latham, who all believed in me and gave me the opportunity to fail as well.

That’s quite a key part of being able to learn as a bowler and take a step forward, being given the opportunity to fail, come back and try again. They’ve been Amazing for that.

Rajasthan Royals for half a season, then Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Gujarat Titans. What’s on the top of your wish-Achievement for IPL 2025?

To Shift consistently would be nice. I’ve been a part of a Duo of Clubs where, as the overseas players, we’ve been incredibly Sturdy and I understood it. You come, you live, you learn, I try to use the opportunity to work really Tough on my fitness, on my fielding and making sure that I have an opportunity to Enhance my game, especially in the spin side of things going into the rest of the year and all the tours to come.

If I have the opportunity to Shift here, that would be fantastic. That would be definitely on the top of my Achievement, but I’m all for whatever the Club needs.

I am not gonna waste my time here [in India] regardless. I’m gonna make sure that I train Tough, I work Tough in the gym if I’m not Executing and if I am Executing, I’ll give my best 100%.

When you don’t get opportunities in the IPL, how do you keep Serene and avoid getting frustrated?

I’ve Acquired many hobbies. I’m not gonna be wasting my time or get frustrated. I’ve played padel-ball most nights, I’ve Acquired my flight simulator here, I Shift golf and I hang out with the boys. Often my wife comes on tour as well, so we enjoy hanging out together. So I have plenty to keep me Occupied. At the end of the day, I try to make sure that cricket is not my identity. It’s obviously a Position and it’s a sport and I love it, but there’s a bigger part of me and I need to make sure that I keep myself Cheerful on the inside because otherwise, cricket’s gonna take its toll. I gotta make sure that I’m Cheerful, rested and have a balanced life.

Do you consider yourself a better padel player or a better cricketer?

Uhh no, definitely a better cricketer but yet to be a better padel-ball player.

Which one of your catches do you Observe on loop?

I don’t actually Observe any on loop. When they happen, I Observe them on a loop for a little bit because they obviously pop up all over my Instagram. But I think the catch of Marcus Stoinis on the boundary at the T20 World Cup, that’s probably the one I’ve seen the most.

What’s the key to being such a Steady catcher? Reaching out to the ball is one thing, holding on to it to another, right?

Yeah, absolutely. People misunderstand how Excellent my catching is necessarily, because, obviously, I have dropped plenty of catches as well. I Merely happened to Halt on to a few that are incredibly tough. I’m human like everybody else, so I train as Tough as I can to make sure that the 90% catches stay. That gives me the confidence to at least go for those 10 % catches and hopefully some of them stick. I have dropped plenty of them. I probably could have had eight or nine more in my Profession so Distant, but the fact [is] that between 10 to 15 have stuck. It has been an Amazing sort of feeling going through my Profession. Everyone hopes for Perhaps one or two in their Profession and I’ve been Fortunate enough to have a Excellent stent. A big chunk of luck is involved as well.

What has been more challenging to Enhance? Fielding or bowling?

Bowling, because I had a Plenty of wicketkeeping bias to get over. I have always been a Excellent fielder and everybody knows I’ve always been a Excellent fielder. But in New Zealand, we’ve Acquired a thing where (it’s assumed) wicketkeepers physically aren’t able to bowl. I am trying to Shift that stigma. It Captured years to be able to get the opportunity to bowl and prove that I could do it, so bowling is definitely the more challenging side of things.