Auckland, Jan 6 (IANS) New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips explained that his occasional switch to left-handed batting is part of a long-term strategy, not just a temporary experiment, and stated that he enjoys batting left handed while training.

During Vols vs Stags Super Smash T20 match last month, the right-handed batter unexpectedly switched his stance, surprising fans. Phillips explained that he has been training as a left-hander regularly and has been preparing for this change over a long period.

“I’ve always been able to bat left-handed. It’s something I’ve done since I was young. I was actually considering switching to bat left-handed when I was about 10 years old, but decided to stick with the right hand. These days, I train batting left-handed for two reasons. One to keep both hands and both sides of the brain working, but also to be able to counteract left arm-spin,” Phillips told New Zealand Cricket.

“I started working on it a bit more recently, facing pace-bowlers left-handed in the nets as well as spinners. I was more thinking it was something for the future but the fact that the opportunity came during the game to use it and I was able to pull it off was pretty cool,” he added.

He mentioned that this idea is part of his long-term strategy and that he might implement it in specific match scenarios. “It’s about trusting the training and understanding that I’ve done the preparation leading into it, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work. I’ve then just got to watch the ball as much as possible,” he said.

Phillips is a part of New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of India, which features three ODIs followed by five T20Is, with the latter proving to be crucial in both teams’ preparations for the T20 World Cup in February.

The all-rounder said he is excited for the upcoming tour and anticipates a warm welcome from Indian fans, although he is still unsure what to expect from the pitches.

“The preparation is going to be perfect,” Phillips said. “The conditions might be a bit different from what we’ll get in the World Cup. You never quite know what kind of pitches teams will produce, especially in the subcontinent, where they sometimes favour spin-friendly surfaces. But on T20 and ODI tours, the pitches are usually very good.”

–IANS

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