Tim Seifert might have grabbed the headlines for his role in the Black Caps’ T20 World Cup opening win over Afghanistan, but New Zealand have a lot to be thankful for in Glenn Phillips.
After losing the toss, bowling first and seeing Afghanistan pile on 182-6 from their 20 overs in Chennai, the wheels threatened to fall off the Black Caps’ innings, when two wickets fell in the second over.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman hit the stumps of both Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra in successive balls, leaving New Zealand 14-2.
But walking in at No 4, and surviving the hat-trick delivery first-up, Phillips was key in making sure New Zealand avoided a repeat of the disastrous loss to Afghanistan to open the last T20 World Cup, 20 months earlier.
From 25 balls, Phillips hammered 42 runs - with seven fours and one six - and added 74 from 47 balls with Seifert to break the back of the chase.
Most importantly, Phillips nullified the threat of Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan, who took 4-17 in the same fixture in 2024, and welcomed arguably the world’s best spinner to the crease with six back over his head.
Make no mistake, Seifert’s 65 off 42 balls rightly stands out for the Black Caps. But without Phillips’ momentum at the other end, New Zealand were at risk of falling behind, and being engulfed by Afghanistan’s three-prong spin attack, as they were in 2024.
While you can argue Phillips has underperformed in other forms of the game, particularly in tests, T20 is the format most tailored to his skillset.
His stranglehold of the No 4 spot has pushed Daryl Mitchell, the world’s best 50 over batter, down the order to No 6, and returned an average of more than 34, at a strike rate of just under 150 to show for it.
And, in a batting order now without Kane Williamson, Phillips is going to have to have a big say if the Black Caps are to achieve anything in India and Sri Lanka over the coming weeks.
“Glenn is world-class,” said teammate Lockie Ferguson. “I don’t know how many times we need to keep saying this, but he is a world-class player.
“He has all the shots, these grounds are too small for him. He’s unbelievably strong, he’s a big game player in the sense that he enjoys those moments.
“He’s done it for a long time, even when he started with me at Auckland. He’s always shown it in big matches, it’s nice to see him today do the same.
“He soaked up the pressure and put it back on Afghanistan, that’s exactly what we want from him batting at No 4.
“He’s had a lot of success here in the last few weeks playing against a very strong India side, I’ve got high hopes for him for the rest of the tournament.”
Sunday night’s win did more than just exorcise the demons of 2024, too.
With New Zealand, again, placed in the tournament’s “group of death”, beating Afghanistan has bought the Black Caps breathing room.
South Africa also lie in wait for both sides, with all three genuinely capable of going deep in the tournament.
Victory doesn’t guarantee New Zealand a place in the next stage, unless South Africa beat Afghanistan later this week. But as things stand, the Black Caps’ fate is completely in their hands.
“We’ve got a really tough pool,” Ferguson continued. “We had a bit of heartbreak at the last World Cup against a strong Afghanistan side.
“We know how dangerous they are, they showed that today again. It was a close win, but getting the two points is so important early in the tournament.
“We’ve got to enjoy that this afternoon, and then a one-day turnaround to our next game. It’s important to focus on that now.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.