Philippe a rep star in waiting

JOSH Philippe has been anointed an Australian player of the future after blasting his way to the top of the BBL batting standings to guide his side back to the competition lead.

In an innings reminiscent of legendary keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, Sixers gloveman Philippe dismantled the Adelaide Strikers attack with a whirlwind 41 off 24 balls to set up his team’s seven-wicket win on the Gold Coast.

Philippe (pictured) eventually fell to Rashid Khan (3-18) after failing to pick the Afghan spinner’s wrong’un, but his knock in a season that has already included a top score of 95 against the Melbourne Renegades last month was enough to convince Sixers captain Daniel Hughes it would not be long before he e earnt higher r honours.

“He is a star and I don’t think it will be too long before he’s in the short form for A u s t r a l i a , ” Hughes said. “He’s just going to keep getting better and better. He just keeps playing the right shots when he needs to, just keeping a cool head, staying calm, no panic. He doesn’t need to hit the ball to the fence every ball and you can see that with the way he’s batting.

“He’s still learning to build an innings and once he gets that he’ll go to the next level and he’ll play for Australia for a few years, I’d say.”

Hughes said Philippe had the necessary skill and temperament to succeed on the international stage.

“He keeps things pretty simple — a simple frame of mind, be clear, watch the ball and he can hit the ball 360 (degrees) and I think to go to the next level you need to be able to do that,” he said.

“He’s great against pace, he’s great against spin and he’s got great gloves in the field as well, so he’s a great keeper.”

Philippe will be again in action on Wednesday when the Sixers play the Perth Scorchers in Western Australia.