New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips shared his switch from wicketkeeping at the beginning of his national career to one of the best
fielders in world cricket as well. Phillips again stated his dislike for keeping and how a back injury helped him convey to New Zealand Cricket about not picking him up as a wicketkeeper as well. However, he debuted in T20Is in 2017 as a keeper but has played only as a batting all-rounder since early 2018 as well. He has played only 7 out of his 115 matches across formats as a keeper for New Zealand as well.

In a recent interview for The Wisden, Phillips said, “I hated keeping long before that (back injury), but the back injury was the perfect excuse. It started by telling New Zealand cricket that I didn’t want them to pick me anymore if I was going to play as a keeper… I jumped off that boat to live by my sword and die by it – thankfully it worked out. I would rather do what I was enjoying than stick around doing something I hated with a passion.”

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Again said Phillips, “I got to the point where I got frustrated with everyone in the field. You get stuck in one position where you can only move 10 metres to your left and to your right. If the ball doesn’t come to you then there’s no movement, you’re not involved in the game at all and I felt like it was a waste of time. It was no fun. There’s no movement, no running and what’s the point of doing something if you’re not enjoying something?”

While Glenn Phillips has kept only in T20Is, the only format he played for New Zealand till 2020, he averages a dismal 18.40 at a strike rate of 117.94 as a keeper in T20Is but an excellent 34.28 at 143.67 as a non-keeper as well. However, Glenn Phillips also mentions Test cricket as his favourite format.

“I didn’t realize how much I wanted to play Test cricket until I started bowling,” concluded Glenn Phillips. “Even just from being able to play in Bangladesh and be involved in both sides of the game… I can go out and bowl 25 overs and bat for as long as I want. That’s where the enjoyment comes from.”