From the backyards of Perth to the Australian national team - The Josh Philippe story

They call it the cruel irony of life. Perth Scorchers were the first team to give Josh Philippe his first taste of life in the big leagues back in the 2017/18 season. For a starry-eyed 20-year old lad from Western Australia, it must have been a dream come true. However, life has a way of throwing curveballs at us every now and then. Everything seems perfect for one moment, the universe makes us feel it is conspiring to fulfil an obvious destiny, only to snatch it away in its inimitable, glorious, cruelly tragic style. Philippe only played one game that season for the Scorchers and was out of a contract. The seemingly perfect pathway from the Australian backyards to becoming a star for the hometown team never materialized.

However, Philippe found a new home in Sydney Sixers for the 2018/19 season. The lad from Perth would get an extended run-in with the Sixers. It took the Sixers’ management 9 games to be convinced of Philippe’s prowess to test him out at the in the opening slot. Although he was no mug batting down the order, his batting position meant Philippe never really got enough time to impress. The masterstroke to get Philippe to open turned around his fortunes. He reposed the faith shown in him with a blistering 86 off only 49 balls against the Hobart Hurricanes while chasing a stiff 173-run target. And then there was no looking back for the flamboyant Aussie gloveman.

Perth Scorchers, the team who had let him go a season ago were left scrambling for Philippe’s signature for the 2019/20 season, but Philippe remained loyal to the Sydney Sixers, the team which had trusted him enough to be a frontline match-winner. If the second half of the 2018/19 BBL gave a glimpse of Philippe’s ability, 2019/20 was his coming-of-age season. Now playing for the first time without the pressure of having to play for his life, having signed a new 3-year deal with Sydney, Philippe made the world sit up and take notice; notice that he was not a flash in the pan, notice that he could singlehandedly win games, notice that he was every bit as resilient as his idol Steve Smith. 

The first game of the 2019/20 season saw Philippe facing the team that coveted his signature but failed in their pursuit - the Perth Scorchers. An unbeaten 44-ball 81 on an evening where the next highest score was 36 across the two teams left even the Aussie greats in the comm-box awestruck. Perhaps the greatest cricketer to have donned the wicket-keeping gloves in baggy green, Adam Gilchrist described the innings as a “T20 masterclass”. Life had come full circle for the former Perth Scorchers-reject.

There was also a parallel narrative running in a different part of the world. Royal Challengers Bangalore may have had their eyes set on him for way longer, but Philippe’s blistering knock would have proved as a reminder as to why he is well worth the investment. A day later, on the 19th of December 2019 in Kolkata, when Josh Philippe’s name was picked out of the bag, RCB had no hesitation in snapping up the latest Aussie T20 sensation.

The season which started off on a thunderous note saw Philippe topping the run-scoring charts for the Sixers, and only behind Marcus Stoinis and Alex Hales overall in the Big Bash League. With consistent performances catching the eye of current and former stars alike, greater things were well on the horizon for the next big thing to come out of the BBL. The starry-eyed kid now has a senior-level call-up to the Australian limited-overs set up which will tour England. Right after fulfilling his national duties, Philippe will travel all the way to UAE to share the dressing room with the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers as he begins his journey with his home-away-from-home, RCB.