Glenn Phillips opens up on his unique run-up action at non-striker’s end

New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips, has stated that he decided to squat like a sprinter in the crease at the non-end striker's against Sri Lanka to run faster while simultaneously keeping an eye on the bowler because the risk of being run out was also on his mind.

“It was very much spur of the moment,” centurion Phillips said after New Zealand’s 65-run win in the T20 World Cup in Sydney. “I had my three-point start wrong, which my best mate will probably give me a little stick for later on. It’s supposed to be the other arm and another leg.

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“I guess the position was to see the bowlers and take off as quickly as possible from a sprinter’s start when you’re trying not to be out of the crease as much as possible — there’s been a lot going around Mankads and leaving the crease.

“At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility to ensure that I’m in the crease and leave at the right time. If the bowler is doing his job, then he has the right to be able to take the bails off.

Phillips crouched, his left foot within the crease and his right hand grasping the bat on the turf, his face tilted to watch Sri Lanka bowler Lahiru Kumara run into the bowl. He believed that using this strategy would get off to a faster start than if he had kept his bat grounded in the crease in the traditional fashion.

“For me to be able to get into that start, that position as quick as possible, it just made sense. The real reason I did it was the position I was getting into; if I had my bat behind the crease, I thought it was slower to turn and accelerate off. Hence the reason for having my foot inside the crease and going from there,” Phillips said.

When asked if more batter would employ his revolutionary strategy in T20 cricket in a year, he said yes. Phillips said, “Who knows? Maybe some people will use it. Maybe some people won’t. The extension of the bat being in the crease gives you another extra foot or two, but at the end of the day, I’ve got little arms. So my speed will probably get me a little further than my reaches.”