Glenn Phillips' maiden Test ton an emotional tribute to his late father

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips dedicated his maiden Test century against England to his late father, reaching the milestone a day before his first death anniversary. He became the third NZ player to score hundreds in all three formats.

New Zealand star batter Glenn Phillips dedicated his maiden Test century to his late father Roland, reaching the milestone just a day before the first anniversary of his passing during the ongoing second Test against hosts England, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Phillips became only the third New Zealand cricketer to score international hundreds across all three formats, joining Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill, after guiding a delivery from Jofra Archer through the off side on the second morning at The Oval.

An Emotional Dedication

"It's the anniversary of my dad's passing tomorrow," Phillips said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. He marked the occasion by raising his bat and looking towards the sky, later explaining the emotional significance behind the celebration. "Hopefully, with our boys doing their thing, maybe I'm not going to be needed tomorrow. But today is close enough for the moment to matter, and he's played a big role in my life. I know he would have loved to be here to see that, and Test cricket was his favourite format... I know he's watching at some stage."

A Tale of Three Phases

His innings unfolded in three phases. He started aggressively on Wednesday evening, striking Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue through the offside to race to 33 from his first 23 balls. However, he then slowed down, scoring just 16 runs from his next 51 deliveries to finish the day unbeaten on 49, as he withstood a hostile spell from Archer's short-pitched bowling. On the following day, he added a further 51 runs from 61 balls to complete his hundred exactly.

The Duel with Archer

Phillips' duel with Archer stood out as a key moment of the innings, with the batter repeatedly ducking and swaying under a barrage of short balls aimed at his body. He later said the experience reminded him of a similar challenge he had faced while playing for New Zealand A during a tour match in 2019.

"We've actually had one of those duels before, six or seven years back in New Zealand, and he pretty much hit me in the exact same spots all over," Phillips said. "He bowls with great heat, great accuracy, and he just kept coming back. Obviously, it was a thrilling contest for the crowd to see as well, and sometimes you've just got to enjoy it, laugh, and hope for the best."

'We're Just Custodians of Those Runs'

Phillips said that he felt like his maiden hundred was always coming but downplayed the significance of the milestone, citing Williamson's team-first mindset. "Kane obviously speaks about it quite a lot: we score our runs, but they're never our runs," Phillips said. "We're just custodians of those runs for the team. We try to do things for the team."

"[I was] not necessarily training red-ball cricket per se, but having that same mindset of being still, trying to keep my head as still as possible, and play the ball as late as possible, under my eyes," he added.

State of Play

The Blackcaps scored after a century from Phillips and contributions from Daryl Mitchell (44) and Kyle Jamieson (41). All-rounder Jacob Bethel was the highest wicket-taker for England with 3/26, while Archer, Mathew Fisher and Sony Baker contributed two wickets each.

In reply, England stands at 222/6 at the end of Day 2, with a fifty from the opener Emilio Gay and a cracking 46 off 57 deliveries from skipper Joe Root. Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke have picked a couple of wickets each. (ANI)

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