Wayne B. Phillips
Wayne Bentley Phillips (born 1 March 1958) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 27 Test matches and 48 One Day Internationals (ODIs) between 1982 and 1986 as a batsman and wicket-keeper.
He was selected in the one day team to play in the McDonald's Cup and began as an opener when "South Australia needed a fast runner to between wickets to partner Rick Darling.
[15] Graeme Wood was dropped as opener after the first test, but his spot was given to Kepler Wessels, a South African batsman who had been in excellent form for Queensland for several seasons and only just become eligible for Australian selection.
Phillips had an excellent test debut, scoring 159 in the first innings, taking part in 2 59 run partnership with Graham Yallop on the first day, and helping set up a huge Australian victory; he also took three catches.
Rod Marsh had retired as Australia's wicketkeeper at the end of the 1983–84 season and it was expected his replacement in the West Indies would be Roger Woolley, who kept wicket for the first two tour games.
In the second innings McFarline wrote that "Phillips, in the horrors, could do little right" at first but eventually began "to gather his shattered confidence and by the end of his 145 minute stay was stroking the ball with something like the timing that marked the beginning of his Australian career.
[30] Ian Chappell wrote that Phillips "should now spend every spare moment he has improving his wicketkeeping" and suggested "a toughening in Wayne's attitude as he is a likeable, easy going bloke who basically wouldn't want to put anyone's nose out of joint, never mind a job."
Phillips made 19 and 12 not out, being at the wicket in the second innings during Kim Hughes' notorious "protest" against the local side, where he instructed batsmen to score slowly.
Smith recovered for the third test so Phillips was put back down the order again, this time at number eight, with Tom Hogan batting ahead of him.
The move seemed to pay off in the first innings, Phillips scoring 120 runs, including 14 fours and 4 sixes, helping Australia set a competitive total of 429.
[42] McFarline wrote "Phillips is a young man with a future, but not as an opening batsman where his angled bat makes him far too vulnerable to bowling of this pace.
"[43] Summarising the tour, McFarline reiterated the series "improved his game enormously" but "showed conclusively that" Phillips was "not an opening batsman of standing in this class" and felt his "future lies at six or seven in the order.
McFarline wrote that Phillips' rececent form was "a worry" and that "he has been having an unhappy time with both bat and gloves in recent weeks and the blow to the face from Malcolm Marshall ... will hardly have filled him with confidence.
In the first final, Phillips' innings of 50 helped (and 105 run partnership with Allan Border) set up a rare Australian victory over the West Indies.
"[61] Bob Simpson, discussing possibilites for the 1985 Ashes, declared Steve Rixon to be "easily the best" wicketkeeper in Australia but felt Phillips should go too as "his batting earned him his spot over other contenders.
Shortly after the squad was announced, news broke that several Australian players had signed to go to go on the rebel tours to South Africa over the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, including Phillips.
[63]However Phillips, along with Dirk Wellham and Graeme Wood (who had also signed to go to South Africa and were part of the Ashes squad), changed his mind after a financial inducement from Kerry Packer.
"[78] The Daily Telegraph said Phillips "has been a most valuable all-rounder —a free-hitting, authoritative strokemaker and an adequate, if ungainly and originally reluctant, wicketkeeper, until he dropped two catches, one easy, one hard, in England’s first innings at the Oval on Friday.
"[82] In picking anAustralian side for the first test against New Zealand, a panel of six experts in the Sun Herald, including Ian Chappell, Bob Simpson and Bill O'Reilly, all had Phillips as Australia's keeper.
Kepler Wessels then withdrew himself from national selection after a dispute with the Australian Cricket Board, and Andrew Hilditch was dropped from the test team.
"It is nothing less than wanton neglect of duty for the selectors to continue at this frightening stage with Wayne Phillips, who looks as comfortable bending down behind the stumps as the proverbial bull in the china shop.
In the second innings he missed two easy stumpings off the bowling of Ray Bright, Gavaskar on 8 and Kris Srikkanth on 35, causing Allan Border to come to Phillips' defence: "I feel sorry for Wayne", he said.
The Australian team dropped numerous catches throughout the match and Phillips missed a stumping off Ray Bright's bowling to Dilip Vengsarkar.
His keeping improved for the first game against New Zealand, and Phillips was promoted to opener for a match against India, making 8 and fumbling a run out of Sharma who was on four.
During the World Series Cup tournament, the Australian squad for the 1986 tour to New Zealand was announced; Phillips retained his place as a better but specialist wicketkeeper Tim Zoehrer would be the 'keeper.
[125] In October 1986 Allan Border hinted that Phillips might be able to force his way back into the ODI side that summer saying "I think Wayne's batting is dangerous at the best of times.
[131] Steve Waugh later described him as: That sporadic genuius... 'Flipper' was always upbeat and great fun to be around – except when he was driving the team bus, in a style that on occasions bordered on maniacal and broke most of the known road rules – but I could never quite work out whether his casual, laid-back attitude was genuine or a disguise for uncertainty and self-doubt.
[132]At his peak, his good looks and ability to score fast meant he was one of the most popular Australian players, particularly with Channel Nine (who broadcast the game) and PBL (in change of marketing).
Graham Halbish, an executive with the Australian Cricket Board, later wrote that: Wayne was very popular with Channel Nine and PBL because they believed he was good value as a commercial asset.
Darren Lehmann wrote Phillips "impressed me as a coach because in addition to his technical excellence and the fact he could command instant respect... he was calm and retained a sense of humour.
