Wayne Phillips
South Australia’s Wayne Phillips was a rakishly built left handed batsman and wicket keeper who represented both state and country in Cricket over the course of a first class career that spanned the thirteen year period between the 1977-78 and 1990-91 seasons.
Despite an unusual grip on the blade (one hand was placed close to the top of the handle and the other near to the bottom), Phillips was a natural stroke maker and one who was particularly confident when executing horizontal bat shots. It was this confidence – as well as a willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of his team – which was integral in his emergence as a successful opener for the Croweaters in the early 1980s and in his elevation to Test level at the start of the 1983-84 international season.
Phillips enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top flight: his commanding 159 against Pakistan in Perth made him only the fourteenth Australian in Test history to compile a century on debut. But it was not long before the same sense of selflessness that had inspired his transformation from a middle order player into an opening batsman acted as a millstone around his neck.
In mid-career, he was asked to become a wicketkeeper on the basis of his experience as a gloveman at underage and club level and as a response to the development of a gaping hole in the Australian team following Rod Marsh’s departure. While the move was not without some short-term benefits – his sound wicket keeping skills and a courageous second Test century on tour in the Caribbean in 1984 encouraged hopes of a long and fruitful stint in the role – it effectively spelled the beginning of the end for his international ambitions. His productivity with the bat waned so steadily thereafter that his Test and One Day International careers were both over within a mere three years.
Phillips subsequently remained a key player in the South Australian team for a number of seasons but his career never again touched the same heights as it had done previously.
Ultimately, Phillips became involved in full-time coaching work in 1996 at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide. He can also occasionally be heard as a sports presenter on Channel 7 and has regular radio segments with 5AA.
Testimonials
Very good speaker very entertaining and a lovely man.
Sigma Pharmaceuticals
Wayne Phillips managed to link stories from his career to the needs of the audience. Very down to earth. Happy to take questions and generally talk to everyone.
Master Locksmiths Association of Australia
Knew his job and performed it perfectly.
Legacy Club of Adelaide Inc.
Wayne Phillips was hilarious and it was a very enjoyable night. We ran way overtime but he didn’t have a problem and was very accommodating. He mingled with guests all night and also assisted with our raffle (without any prior notice) which was fantastic. He also dropped one of our club members home after the event (Barry “Nugget” Rees) which was greatly appreciated! Would have no hesitation in recommending him as a guest speaker for any event, sporting or otherwise.
Kensington District Cricket Club
I found the presentation light hearted and funny. After the presentation, the response from our clients, a number of who were not familiar with cricket was that it was very entertaining and funny. They thoroughly enjoyed the speech.
FMG Engineering
We found Wayne’s dry sense of humour and story telling very entertaining and his lay-back style fits in well with all types of functions.
Rossdale Homes
Wayne was fantastic! He had the room in hysterics – all of our guests thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. I would not hesitate to use Wayne again for one of our events.
REISA
Great sense of humour, managed to elicit amazing information out of GPs who wouldn’t normally reveal anything about themselves, and thoroughly entertained the audience. Wayne is very personable and relaxed and we really enjoyed and appreciated his contribution to the evening.
Rural Doctors Workforce Agency
Very personable and funny. Easily engaged with our audience.
Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters