Glenn Phillips shines in spite of New Zealand's misfields to break Brook-Pope partnership in NZ vs ENG 1st Test Day 2

In the first Test match between New Zealand and England in Christchurch, star all-rounder Glenn Phillips showcased his exceptional fielding skills on Day 2. Despite a tough day for the Kiwis, Phillips stood out with a remarkable catch at gully to dismiss Ollie Pope for 77 runs off 98 balls. This stunning display of athleticism reaffirmed Phillips' reputation as a top-tier fielder in international cricket.

The wicket came off the second ball of the 53rd over bowled by the retiring Tim Southee. Pope rocked back and tried to cut through backward point. Phillips dived full-length to his right, caught the ball while being horizontal to the ground and held on to it with aplomb after making impact. It ended a 151-run stand between Pope and Harry Brook that came in just 188 balls.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage Here is a video of the catch:

The moment, however, was an outlier in what was otherwise a wretched day in the field for New Zealand. The Kiwis are known to be a good fielding side, with that aspect of the game being central to their historic 3-0 whitewash of India at the latter's home in their last Test series.

Brook was dropped a whopping four times, so much so that he remained unbeaten on 132 off 163 balls at the end of the day. Captain Ben Stokes was at the other end on 32 off 76 and the fifth wicket stand between the pair was worth 97 runs off 130 balls at the end of Day 2. Stokes himself was the beneficiary of a dropped catch, as was England opener Ben Duckett earlier in the day.

All of it meant that New Zealand have fallen well behind in the match despite scoring 348 batting first. England ended Day 2 on 319/5 and will be looking to put up as big a lead as possible on Day 3, with a declaration of any kind looking highly unlikely.

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