IND vs NZ Final Champions Trophy 2025: “We kind of expect that from Glenn.” That was New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner reaction in the post-match presentation when he was asked about Glenn Phillips’ ability to take sensational catches on the cricket field. That sure maybe the case, but every time he pulled off a stunner during the ICC Champions Trophy, Phillips made jaws drop, even though it’s become habitual for him. If there is a cricketer in the world at the moment who can make it to a playing XI purely on his athleticism in the outfield, it is Phillips. The 28-year-old, who did gymnastics at school growing up, is also training to be a pilot. “I’ll probably fly for close to four or five hours most days,” Phillips, who has a flight simulator in his room, told BBC Sport. “The other day I did Bahrain to Dubai.Sometimes I’ll do Heathrow to Manchester, other days Auckland to Christchurch. It really depends on what is floating in my boat for the day.”
And boy can he fly. Here are three catches the flying Kiwi took during the tournament.
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Shubman Gill (Final)
A chase that was placed well and going at brisk pace was halted and it was halted by a flying beauty from none other than the superman Phillips. As Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill moved along swiftly in the chase, NZ needed something special and Phillips did exactly that. He plucked a catch out of thin air, from behind his head, to dismiss Gill off Mitchell Santner. It was a flighted ball which was drilled towards cover by Gill but Phillips’ jump in the air came as divine intervention. His reaction time was 0.78 seconds.
The catch was a photographer’s delight, an acrobat’s arch as Phillips was like a silk ribbon caught in breeze, absolutely fluid. The 28-year-old has made it a habit now, displaying acrobatic skills on the field, day in and day out. His celebration was pretty down-to-earth though: crossing his hands and feet, while still sitting on the ground, and a happy smile pasted on his face. Not smug. Just content.
Virat Kohli (Group stage)
Before the match last Sunday against India, Phillips was asked in the press conference about his incredible catching skills. A reporter wondered: ‘Any particular glue stick you use?’ Philllips’ response was typically understated: “I think a great deal of luck comes involved. I wish I could say that I’ve got a special little glue tag that I use, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. If anything, my palms are more sweaty than anything else. Obviously comes down to a lot of hard work and doing the basics as much as I can and then sometimes luck just plays a good part in it.” There was no luck here, just pure skill as Phillips flung himself to his right and completed a catch that left Virat Kohli standing in disbelief.
Mohammed Rizwan (Group stage)
In the tournament opener in Karachi, Phillips had already made his impact lower down the order with the bat. He is a handy bowler too (and has kept wickets in the past as well). But he showed his importance on the field with an extraordinary catch to dismiss Pakistan’s most dangerous batter at the moment, Mohammad Rizwan. The Pakistan captain cut the ball hard, and much like Kohli, would have expected a four for that shot. This time, Phillips threw himself to his left at point, and completed another catch for the ages. Given it was to his wrong side, and the ball was quite high up in the air, this might just be the best one of the three spectacular catches that Phillips took in the tournament.
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