There's only a few around the world: Steve Smith’s praise for Josh Philippe’s finishing abilities
‘Never meet your heroes’, goes the saying, ‘for they often disappoint you’. The first time he got to bat with Steve Smith, Philippe summoned his abilities to essay an emphatic chase against Brisbane Heat, with an unbeaten 52, while sharing a 41-run stand with Smith for the second wicket. Of the 41 runs, Smith only contributed 9. Safe to say, the master would have been impressed.
For a youngster running out of a BBL contract, it was a phone call from one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played the game, Steve Smith, went a long way in Philippe abandoning his dreams of being a star for the Perth Scorchers to join the Sydney Sixers. "(Smith) was pretty influential but at the same time, I had to make a decision I felt was right for my development. I went back and did a pros and cons with dad and we sorted it out from there,” Philippe explained of his move to the Sixers. Over the two seasons playing in the Sixers’ magenta, the move has proved to be a blessing for Philippe’s budding career.
If one thought Philippe would be overwhelmed by having to bat with Steve Smith, a guy he has looked up to, one would be wrong. If one were to think Philippe would be sweating bullets at the prospect of having to play his first major finals on a massive stage, in front of a marauding home crowd at the iconic SCG, one would still be mistaken. In an innings that was the cherry on top of the incredible season, Philippe had endured in the 2019/20 edition of the BBL, Philippe’s 52 off 29 powered Sixers to score of 116 in a rain-curtailed game of 12 overs.
Sixers won the title by 19 runs in the final against Melbourne Stars. In only his second season, Philippe had topped the run charts for his team, and the Man of the Match award was the icing on the cake. However, there was to be more. Having seen Philippe’s brilliance from close quarters, Steve Smith could not contain his admiration for his protege. "He's been amazing this tournament and under pressure in a final as a young kid to play the way he did … I thought it was a terrific effort," gleamed Smith. “He probably hasn't played in a rain-reduced game down to 12 (overs) as well. To be able to bat all the way through - he just played some really good cricket shots, played to his strengths again, and hit the middle of the bat on a consistent basis,” Smith was left impressed.
Philippe may have made his mark playing as an opener for the Sixers, but it was something else that caught the eye of Steve Smith. Philippe’s reign at the top was a consequence of preceding impressive performances down the order as a finisher. It was that nervelessness at the fag end of an innings that Smith finds unique. "Everyone wants to bat at the top while you've only got two fielders out," he said. "Guys that can do it down the end and can do it on a reasonably consistent basis – there's only a few around the world. You're talking the (MS) Dhonis, Jos Buttler, Hardik Pandya does it really well, Andre Russell in the IPL,” Smith praised. That is some elite company that Smith has placed Philippe alongside.
Philippe must be wondering what the fuss about meeting one's heroes is all about after all.
NEXT
