Fatalist Phillips’ mantra

to succeed in Mirpur
SPORTS REPORTER
When batting to preserve one’s wicket, usually aggression is the first thing a batter needs to forgo in Test cricket.
However, in a track such as the one served at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka for the second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand, batting aggressively is the only way one can hope to survive long enough to make an impact, proved Kiwi batter Glenn Phillips yesterday.
Phillips, who resumed his innings on five, showed ODI-like aggression from the start of Day Three, not allowing the Bangladesh’s spinners to settle down on a length.
Thanks to him, New Zealand added 134 runs in 24.3 overs on the day before losing their remaining five wickets, earning an eight-run lead.
Phillips’ scintillating 87 off 72 deliveries crushed Bangladesh’s hopes of getting a sizable first innings lead after having reduced the Kiwis to 55-5 on Day One and turned the Test into virtually a one innings contest.
At the end of the day’s press conference, the 27-year-old said that his aggressive approach stemmed from the realisation that in the unpredictable pitch in Mirpur, attacking is the best form of defence.
“You’re only going to be out there for so many balls and there’s one with your name on it. You’ve gotta score off the ones that are available,” Phillips said after the third day’s play.
‘On pitches like these, understanding that sometimes being a little bit more aggressive is almost the best remedy where if you can put a bowler off their length a little bit, then you can get them to bowl in the area that you would feel a bit more comfortable with,” he added.
In an innings where Phillips hit nine fours and four sixes, Phillips celebrated successfully getting his bat down in time to a Nayeem Hasan delivery as he wanted to avoid losing his wicket to the off-spinner for the second straight innings.
Phillips also said that he had decided the way he would approach his innings beforehand and would’ve accepted it even if he hadn;t succeeded.
“The fact is that some balls keep incredibly low and move quite quickly and then some spit quite heavily and bounce a lot… With the two extremes, I guess it’s understanding, as I said, picking a poison and going ‘which one am I happy with’ and accepting the fact that if the delivery that’s outside of your game plan happens, you make peace with it.
“And for me, [it was about] understanding the way that Naeem got me in the first game and then how I wanted to play in this game,” Phillips said.
Bangladesh’s two top scorers from the first innings – Mushfiqur Rahim (35) and Shahadat Hossain Dipu (31) – played more deliveries than Phillips but couldn’t go past 30s.
Phillips made use of the deliveries he faced, unlike the Bangladeshi duo and his innings opened up the game.
The Bangladesh batters have seemingly taken a note out of Phillips’ approach as they reached 38 for two before bad light ended play.
But picking the right ball to go after like Phillips is not an easy task, evidenced by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s dismissal while trying to hit Tim Southee over mid-off in what ended up being the penultimate ball of the day.
The onus will be on the rest of the batters to take the attack to the Kiwis on Day Four and put enough runs on the board so that the spinners can spin Bangladesh to a historic series win.