After suffering a groin injury, Glenn Phillips has returned to training with Otago and New Zealand.
After a protracted injury layoff, New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips is “feeling really strong” and has resumed training, but he is hesitant to return to elite cricket.
Since sustaining a groin injury while representing Washington Freedom in the Major League Cricket (MLC) final in July, Phillips, 28, has not participated in competitive cricket. He had sustained a similar injury in April while playing for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
“Yeah, obviously when you do both groins the rehab and recovery is a little bit longer, so I guess things are coming along really nicely,” Phillips stated. “I’m feeling really strong and now it’s just about loading it up and getting ready to play at some stage.”
Glenn Phillips was absent from the home series against Australia, England, and the West Indies as well as the tour of Zimbabwe. He was also unable to play for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) owing to the injury. Since then, he has trained with the Otago Volts, his home team, and most recently with New Zealand in preparation for the fifth Twenty20 International against the West Indies in Dunedin.
“Obviously, we always want to return as soon as possible, but in the end, it really comes down to the loading aspect of things. The most important thing is when my leg is sufficiently loaded to enable me to perform as I do in the field. I suppose it boils down to whether or not I give it my all. If, at that point, I’m a little weak, then we’re not ready to leave, so we’ll simply wait till that point.”
Before playing for New Zealand again, Glenn Phillips said he will test his match fitness in domestic cricket. The 100th season of the four-day Plunket Shield will start on November 18, and the one-day Ford Trophy will take a break after five matches. Glenn stayed in Otago while his brother Dale relocated from Dunedin to Auckland before to the season.
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“At this stage no date in mind, we’re just seeing things as we go and I’d imagine it’ll be for Otago before coming back to the Black Caps side of things,” Glenn Phillips stated. Before entering the global stage, you must undoubtedly test items in an atmosphere. It goes without saying that playing international cricket requires you to give every game your all. Until I’m prepared to do that, we’ll continue loading as we go.
“Yes, that [Plunket Shield] will be the hope, but as we mentioned, it’s really close to where my leg is right now. We’re making great progress and heading in the right path, but we still need more time to practice fielding and loading in order to ensure that there is no chance of suffering another injury during the game.”
Glenn Phillips was happy to be reunited with his teammates in Dunedin on Wednesday, having last represented New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai in March.
“Yeah, it’s great, it [Dunedin] is obviously a little bit of a home, so I’m feeling with the boys here and getting back to see guys that I haven’t seen in a while,” Glenn Phillips stated. “You know we go around the world quite often and meet different boys and different teams, but to come back here it does give that sense of home and that sense of belonging with a family that you know.”
The development of his Otago teammate Jacob Duffy from a domestic workhorse to the head of the current New Zealand attack made Glenn Phillips pleased. Up until recently, Duffy, 31, was the top-ranked T20I bowler. In the current T20I series against the West Indies, he has been flawless with his lengths and lines, particularly during the powerplay.
“Yeah he [Duffy] has been fantastic,” Phillips remarked. “He talks about trying to get the ball up there, swinging it, and doing what he does best, and I believe he has done that admirably both this summer and last summer. He puts in a lot of effort throughout, has many variants, and is always striving to improve, which I believe shows in the games.
“He has opportunities where things don’t necessarily go his way and then when they do he really makes them count which is fantastic and I suppose that’s what being a cricketer is all about.”
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