Phillips has a scorcher

Glenn Phillips is proving to be quite the catch for the Black Caps.

At 21, he has the potential to be the future wicketkeeper across more formats than just Twenty20. That’s his desire anyway.

His 55 from 40 was the highest score in New Zealand’s 47-run win over West Indies at Saxton Oval on Friday - and a good indication of his potential.

But it was his superb, sprawling catch, where he charged 30m towards the boundary to dismiss dangerman Chris Gayle for just 12, that proved to be the real highlight in an otherwise dull T20 series opener where West Indies struggled with the bat.

It was one of three catches he took, along with a stumping, in a man of the match performance. Not bad for a bloke playing just his fourth international.

‘‘I didn’t know where it went to start with,’’ said Phillips when running through the catch.

‘‘I just started running back and then hoped that the two guys either side weren’t going to run into me. I just put out the big mitt and hoped that it stuck and it did.

‘‘It’s an interesting situation because none of us actually called for it.

‘‘When the sky is a bit blue like that, sometime you don’t have anything to gauge it on. But the ball has a shimmer around it so you just sort of hope you catch it and thankfully I did today.’’

Weirdly enough though, Phillips ranks the catch as just the third best of his young career.

Apparently it sits behind Usman Khawaja in Australia and some kid from year six.

‘‘I just remember the catch,’’ he said.

Phillips was not the only player to come away with his reputation enhanced, with Seth Rance taking 3-30 in a tidy T20 debut. He was the pick of New Zealand’s bowling attack but wickets were shared around, with stand-in skipper Tim Southee finishing with 3-36 and Doug Bracewell 2-10.