Netherlands will be tough to beat: Glenn Phillips

In anticipation of his team's upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup match against the Netherlands, New Zealand batsman Glenn Phillips expressed his belief that the Dutch side will prove to be a formidable opponent in the tournament.

He noted that the Netherlands earned their place in the competition by defeating high-quality teams and that many of their players have experience in county cricket.

New Zealand will take on the Netherlands on Monday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. NZ won their first WC match against defending champions England by nine wickets. On the other hands, the Netherlands opened their campaign with a 81-run loss to Pakistan.

Talking about the Netherlands as a team, Phillips said, "I think they are a really good team. Obviously, they have beaten quite a few good opponents to be able to qualify for the tournament in the first place.

“So, they are a team definitely not to be taken lightly. They have a lot of highly professional cricketers who play all through county cricket as well. So, they have definitely got a good skill set. They know their roles. They bond together well as a team. And I definitely think they are going to be a tough team to beat in this competition."

‘Approach every game the same way’ 

Questioned on how they will approach this match against the Netherlands, Phillips said that they approach every game in the same way and Kiwis wil have to step their best foot forward.

"We approach every game the same way every time, every team is strong in its own right, especially on a given day. The Netherlands have a lot of strong players, and we are going to have to still put our best foot forward, as I am sure they will. So, keep coming up with our plans, doing our scouting, making sure that we have everything set in place, and not taking any team lightly," said the batter.

Phillips said that the mood within the camp is very neutral following the win over England.
"Obviously, we enjoyed the first win incredibly much, but obviously with the tournament being such a quick turnaround, we try to keep things as neutral as possible, not get too high when we win and not get too low when we lose. And I think that is the key for us

throughout this competition," said Phillips.

The batter said that regular skipper Kane Williamson is not going to play in the match. He did not play in the WC opener as well.

"No, we have released a bit of an extract, an update that Kane will be still recovering with the hopes of him playing in the third match, but we'll see how his recovery goes. He is going really strong at the moment," Phillips said.

Talking about the 273-run partnership between centurions Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra in the last match, Phillips said, "Yeah, they were absolutely brilliant. Obviously 270-odd run partnership is phenomenal, especially for two guys in their first World Cup. I guess from a team perspective it is really nice to know that those two boys are in some serious form and obviously everyone in the warm-up games obviously had a nice little head out and yeah, it's a good feeling in the camp at the moment."

‘He plays an aggressive brand of cricket’

Phillips said that it was not a surprise to see all-rounder Ravindra bat so well since he has played a lot of cricket with him.

"Oh, no. I was not surprised at all. Obviously, I have played a lot of cricket with him back home and he actually plays a very aggressive brand of one-day cricket. Being up the top of the order. He likes to play with a lot of flair. He plays that square drive incredibly well, which with the new ball is an absolute asset. And then the way he combined with Devon as well, the tempo they both set, they struck at 120, 130 without even almost lifting a finger. It was phenomenal to watch," said Phillips.

‘My bowling has been coming along for a while’

Phillips picked up two wickets in the first match and said that his bowling has been coming along for quite a while.

• World Cup 2023

"Yeah, obviously my bowling has been coming along for quite a while now. And to be able to get the opportunities on the big stage is a moment that I have been relishing for a long time. It is really nice to have the backing of the coaching staff and obviously the captain as well regardless of whether it's Kane or Tom, to be able to go out there and then look at me and go. Okay, we can use them for this specific role and if that sort of opportunity comes up throwing me the ball and saying hey, you know we're all a team in this together and we need you to do this role for us at the moment. And to be able to go out there and execute that role is really enjoyable," he concluded.