Source: Radio New Zealand
Glenn Phillips of New Zealand www.photosport.nz
Missing the first part of the summer through injury should work in Glenn Phillips’ favour as he prepares for a busy couple of months of cricket.
Phillips had groin problems last year while playing franchise cricket and missed the white ball series’ against Australia, India and the West Indies.
He returned to the Black Caps’ side for the second West Indies Test at the Basin Reserve in early December.
Phillips was also happy to get a couple of Super Smash games in for Otago after Christmas.
Glenn Phillips in action, 2025. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
“The energy levels are high and the body held up nicely,” he said.
The first group of players, including Phillips, have headed to India for three ODI’s and five T20 internationals. Eight games in 20 days.
“It’s a quick turnaround between games so recovery will be key, and hopefully the body just keeps improving as we keep going,” he said.
The T20 World Cup, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will start a week after New Zealand’s final T20 international against India.
“The preparation side of it is going to be fantastic, but it is going to be about staying as fresh as possible for the biggest event of the year.
“The conditions may be a little bit different to what we actually get in the World Cup, you never quite know what pitches will be produced especially if we are playing subcontinent teams.
“They tend to produce something that is a bit more spin-friendly [for World Cups] but in the T20 and ODI tour they tend to produce pitches that are really quite good.
“Chennai could spin quite a bit, whereas in Ahmedabad it could be a lot flatter and a lot faster, so it is about getting as much information as possible heading into the World Cup.”
A number of the Black Caps could be away as long as two months if the team progresses deep into the World Cup, and while there will not be much time for anything else other than training and playing, Phillips said he had packed his computer games – including his flight and golf simulators.
Otago Volts Glenn Phillips batting against Central Stags, 2025. www.photosport.nz
“It is definitely about keeping that life balance as much as possible. Stay fresh, stay happy with the boys getting around each other to make sure that we’re all in good places and making the most of our time together and enjoying each other’s company off the field.”
Phillips said they were not always seen as the enemy in India, as many of the locals viewed New Zealand as their second-favourite team.
“There is a lot of support, even though first and foremost they’re cheering for their Indian side. We do get a lot of love, which is fantastic.”
Black Caps schedule in India
- 1st ODI 9pm Sunday 11 Jan, Baroda
- 2nd ODI 9pm Wednesday 14 Jan, Rajkot
- 3rd ODI 9pm Sunday 18 Jan, Indore
- 1st T20 2:30am Thursday 22 Jan, Nagpur
- 2nd T20 2:30am Saturday 24 Jan, Raipur
- 3rd T20 2:30am Monday 25 Jan, Guwahati
- 4th T20 2:30am Thursday 29 Jan, Vizag
- 5th T20, 2:30am Sunday 1 Feb, Trivandrum
- T20 World Cup India and Sri Lanka, 7 February – 8 March
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
