Phillips pushes back on 'four drops' question after NZ's T20I loss to India
Glenn Phillips played a big innings in the first T20I at Hagley Oval. He then spent part of the late-night press conference arguing over how many catches New Zealand had actually dropped.
India chased down 226 in Christchurch on Thursday, October 22. They finished on 230 for six in 19.4 overs, a four-wicket win with two balls to spare. New Zealand had posted 225 for four, and Phillips top-scored with an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls. It was a total that would normally be enough, and the hosts could not defend it.
The exchange began when a visiting journalist put it to Phillips that New Zealand had put down four chances. Phillips cut in and asked which four the journalist meant. The names raised in the question included captain Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Finn Allen and Lockie Ferguson. Phillips accepted that two were genuine drops, one by Santner and one by Allen. He did not accept the other two, saying fielders had not got their hands on the ball.
His argument was simple. If the ball never touched a fielder's hands, it is a half-chance, not a dropped catch. He added that catches go down in every game, but that if people want to judge fielding, they should count the chances properly. He also defended Ferguson, a bowler, whose effort he felt should not be in the list.
The drops mattered because of when they came. One account of the match says Axar Patel was given a life in the 13th over and another in the 14th, by Santner and Henry. Shreyas Iyer was put down off the last ball of the 15th over. That is the middle phase of a chase, when one big partnership can swing a game. Whatever the exact count, New Zealand's fielding gave India breathing room while they were chasing a target above 225.
Phillips did not blame the fielding alone. Speaking more broadly after the match, he credited India for chasing 226 and said his side would have needed a couple more wickets in the middle overs, or a few more dot balls, to put the chasers under pressure. He said New Zealand's plans were fine on paper and the issue was carrying them out. He also felt the Indian batters adjusted well to the extra bounce and the larger boundaries, which are not what they are used to at home.
That last point is useful context for Indian fans. Pitches in New Zealand are very different from those the team plays on at home, so a successful chase of this size on this tour is a good sign. A batting line-up that can handle bounce and big boundaries, and still score at close to 12 an over, will matter for India's T20 planning going forward.
For New Zealand, the loss came despite the hosts' best T20 batting display against India. It matched their joint-highest T20I total against this opponent. Phillips' 82 made the game close, but the lost catches and the lack of middle-overs wickets let India get ahead. Phillips has talked about dropped catches at Hagley Oval before, so he is used to the subject. This time his irritation was with the way the number was arrived at.
The tone of the exchange has been described both as heated and as light-hearted, and the answer probably depends on who is watching. The cricket point behind it is clear. Both teams will know that fielding errors can decide a close T20 chase, and New Zealand will want to fix theirs before the next match.