NZ vs ENG | Jofra Archer quickest bowler I've ever faced, exclaims Glenn Phillips

NZ vs ENG | Jofra Archer quickest bowler I've ever faced, exclaims Glenn Phillips

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New Zealand batsman Glenn Phillips has shed light on the challenge of facing Jofra Archer and has hailed the English speedster as the quickest bowler he's faced in his life. On Friday, playing for New Zealand A, Phillips scored a sublime ton against a full-strength English side at the Cobham Oval.

One of the stories of world cricket over the course of the last six months has been England's Jofra Archer, who has taken the sport by storm by terrorizing batsmen with raw pace. After making his international debut prior to the World Cup, Archer bowled England to their maiden 50-over World Cup title by defending 16 runs off the decisive super over and later, instilled fear on the Aussie batsmen in the Ashes by bombarding them with bouncers.

Heading into the Tests against New Zealand, unsurprisingly, the limelight is on the 24-year-old Barbadian and in his first examination, has impressed one and all by claiming successive two-wicket hauls in the warm-up games. But one batsman who withstood Archer's arrow was Auckland's Glenn Phillips, who struck a masterful ton to keep the visitors at bay. However, the 22-year-old has now shed light on the challenge of facing Archer and has hailed the Englishman as the quickest bowler he's ever faced.

"My goodness. That was the quickest I've faced in my life. The challenge was unbelievable," Phillips was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Archer sent shockwaves around the world of cricket by infamously knocking Steve Smith over by hitting him on the neck in the Ashes, and Phillips has revealed that the incident plays on the mind of every batsman bracing to face the Archer challenge. However, he asserted that Archer's ploy is purely a tactical one and said that the Englishman had no intention of hurting anyone with his deliveries. The 22-year-old also revealed that the challenge for batsmen whilst facing the Barbadian is to see off his fiery spells and get through them unscathed. 

"With Steve Smith getting hit a couple of months ago, it [the fear of injury] is in the back of your mind a bit as he's running in a bit. But he's not out there in trying to intentionally hurt anyone. It's more a tactical thing. If you're watching the ball, hopefully you should be OK. But if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Phillips said. 

"It's the most fun you can have out there. There's no point it being easy, especially when a guy is running in trying to take your head off. It might not be his wicket-taking ball, either. So the challenge is to make sure you survive and get out of the spell," he revealed. 

Having now gotten a good idea about Archer and his bowling, Phillips also gave some valuable advice to his compatriots on how to potentially tackle the threat of the speedster.

"What advice would I give to the New Zealand team if they ask? Just watch the ball as hard as you can. Like any bowler, he does give you bad balls. But he's very accurate with his short-ball plan," he concluded.

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