Ricky Ponting Hails New Zealand’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Campaign, Praises Glenn Phillips’ Fielding Skills

March 13, 2025: Former Australia captain and ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has lauded New Zealand’s remarkable performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, despite their narrow loss to India in the final. Speaking after the final, Ponting emphasized that New Zealand had an outstanding tournament, coming up against a strong Indian team in the title match, where they lost by four wickets.

Ponting praised the Black Caps for their consistent brilliance throughout the tournament, highlighting their dominance in the semi-final against South Africa. “New Zealand had another outstanding tournament. They were brilliant all the way through,” Ponting said on The ICC Review. He added that New Zealand’s performance against South Africa, where they posted a total of 360-odd runs, was “probably the best game of one-day cricket you can play.”

Ponting also pointed out how New Zealand always finds a way to be in the top four in ICC events, despite his personal pick of Pakistan and South Africa making the cut this time. “As soon as you start talking about top fours for ICC events, you just have to put New Zealand in it, because they always do it.”

One of the standout performers for New Zealand was Matt Henry, who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. Although he missed the final due to injury, Ponting reflected on how Henry’s presence might have made a difference in the final. “They just came up against a really good team in the final. India won in the 49th or 50th over. They haven’t done a lot wrong,” Ponting remarked.

Ponting further highlighted that New Zealand’s stars did not perform in the final, including key players like Henry, adding that the Black Caps were only a step away from winning the tournament. “If they keep putting themselves there, it’s only a matter of time before they win an ICC tournament,” he noted.

Ponting also praised the fielding abilities of Glenn Phillips, who was instrumental with his stunning catches in the tournament. Ponting, a former exceptional fielder himself, believes Phillips is in the same league as some of the best fielders the game has seen. “If you put the highlights reel together, his is probably better than anyone,” Ponting said, comparing Phillips’ fielding to that of legends like Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, and Ravindra Jadeja.

Delving into the technical aspects of Phillips’ fielding, Ponting acknowledged the New Zealander’s incredible agility and one-handed catches. “His ability to launch himself for catches… you’ve still got to hang on to the ball,” he emphasized. Ponting also shared his favorite catch of Phillips from the tournament, describing his catch against Virat Kohli in the group stages as his best.

Ponting concluded by saying that Phillips’ fielding displays were nothing short of exceptional, calling it “unbelievably good” and noting that he had witnessed similar brilliance in Test cricket as well.