1 November - Pune - New Zealand player Glenn Phillips post-match press conference
[Reporter:]
Just the decision at the toss to kind of choosing to feel first and then kind of playing into probably South Africa's hands because that's been their blueprint. Bat first, big runs on the board and then get the opposition out.
[Glenn Philips:]
Yeah absolutely. At the end of the day, we chose to do a toss what we thought was best on this pitch with the information that's been given and that's what we go by every game. Obviously South Africa are incredibly strong batting first but we've got an incredibly good bowling lineup and there was no reason that we couldn't have restricted them to a total that could have been a lot easier to chase on there. Playing on at the end, I definitely thought it got better as well. So, I think had things gone slightly differently, we could definitely have come a lot closer than we did today.
[Reporter:]
You've been at the receiving end of two big partnerships in the last two games, Travis Head and Warner 175, today we had Rossi [Rassie van der Dussen] and Quinton de Kock with 200 runs. Picking up wickets in the middle is the key to anything, isn't it?
[Glenn Philips:]
Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, it's very different from the two situations where Travis [Head] and Davy [Warner] got off to an absolute flyer, whereas we kept things under control. I think South Africa understood that they were probably a little bit behind the run rate and they obviously came a little bit hotter through the middle and with the pitch not necessarily offering too much turn for the spinners strangling them in the middle became a little bit tough. But we mixed with our plans, we tried our very best to contain them, but when you get two guys on a heater, it's pretty good.
[Reporter:]
We've got five on the injury list now. That really puts a spanner in the works?
[Glenn Philips:]
Yeah, I mean, every team is combating injuries at the moment. But we'll, we'll see what the scans and the X-rays show and we'll go from there.
[Reporter:]
You still have your destiny in your own hands. Looking forward to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and you win both those games you go through. So that must still give you confidence.
[Glenn Philips:]
Yeah, absolutely. It's just two wins away, and that hopefully puts us in third or fourth place, potentially even second. So, I think if we can just keep sticking to our basics, what we do best on the field, everything will be all right.
[Reporter:]
You just mentioned that the run rate was a bit low in South Africa's innings, but it seems like that's sort of their blueprint. They're not a team that scores very quickly in power play and then they sort of build up to go to launch at the end.
How does it feel when you're in the field against a team like that? Were you guys thinking about knowing their plans with that being now the launching at the end or did you just feel that South Africa was sort of under pressure with regards to the run rate and still being in control for you guys?
[Glenn Philips:]
No, I think we definitely recognized that they were playing the style of cricket that they wanted to play. But obviously, when any team tries to accelerate, you get opportunities. Obviously, Quinton had a little bit of luck today as well, which helps. And sometimes you need that as a batter. And then when that luck goes your way, the runs start to flow, things start to move a little bit, and once momentum starts changing, it's hard to bring it back.
So, a couple of things go to hand today. Maybe it looks slightly different, but obviously then you've got Markram and Klaassen coming in as well, who have been on absolute heaters too.
So, I think for us, we definitely tried our best to combat the situation that we saw in front of us. But as I said, they played really well today.
[Reporter:]
Just ask about a couple of things that you mentioned like Quinton de Kock's run out for example and in the last few matches a few basics have maybe gone a little bit wrong. Is there any kind of focus on just getting those things right and are you a little bit disappointed that maybe you guys haven't?
[Glenn Philips:]
I mean at the end of the day a couple of tough chances were dropped, a missed run out when his back was turned to the bowler's end. You have no idea where Quinton's actually standing. Obviously, he had a little bit more time than he thought, but at the end of the day, it's not like we've been dropping straightforward chances or creating a lot of blunders in the field. We've definitely put a lot of pressure on the opposition in the field and we've saved a lot of runs and obviously sometimes people drop catches and that's just the way things go.
[Reporter:]
The game against Pakistan coming up is going to be on heaters. It's going to be pretty emotional, I guess, with Pakistan pushing for that fourth spot. Do you think that the collective demeanour of the Black Caps remaining calm, provided you can get 11 on the field, will be a big factor in that game - remaining calm in what's going to be a charged atmosphere?
[Glenn Philips:]
Yeah, absolutely. We try to remain level-headed throughout everything, not ride the highs too high and the lows too low. So, I think for us, it's go about our business as we've done the whole way through, just keeping things simple, sticking to what we do best. Obviously, the way England, Australia, South Africa, they all play a very aggressive brand of cricket and we've got our own brand and if we stick to it, we know that we're fighters, we keep coming back time and time again and when it matters most, we really put the foot down.
[Reporter:]
Considering the kind of injury concerns that New Zealand and Sri Lanka have had, do you think the squad size of 15 is practical in the modern day? Should this be looked at to maybe relax a bit for future tournaments of such scale?
[Glenn Philips:]
No, I think a squad of 15 is perfect. We're close enough anywhere in the world to fly someone in at any stage if you really absolutely need to. But you've got 15 players in a squad for a reason and if someone goes down you try and cover your bases and then obviously with rules and regulations being able to bring someone in if someone has an injury concern is I think it's the format is good as it is.