New South Wales have one trophy left to chase this season, and the squad sound determined to lift it for their outgoing coach Greg Shipperd. Sunday’s heavy Sheffield Shield loss to South Australia closed the door on a late run for the final, so attention turns to Wednesday’s Marsh One-Day Cup decider against Tasmania in Hobart, where the Dean Jones Trophy is on the line.
“We just want to send him off on a high,” wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe said. “So it’s great to make this one-day final. He was disappointed at the decision [over his jobs], but he loves cricket, he loves the group and he wants to win titles so we’re trying to do that as best as we can for him.”
Shipperd learned in late January that his time in charge of both NSW and the Sydney Sixers would finish at season’s end. Rather than step away immediately, he stayed to guide the Blues through the closing rounds. Players say that choice has kept spirits up after what has been, at best, a patchy campaign.
Philippe, one of the coach’s closest protégés, credits him for much of his own progress. “I probably wouldn’t be here without him,” he admitted. “I’ve been very close to him for a long time and particularly through the T20 side where I’ve spent pretty much all my career with him. He’s been amazing for me.” A smile followed: “I’m sure he’ll keep ringing me as well.”
The 28-year-old’s season has been busy and occasionally chaotic. There was a century for Australia A in India last September, a recall to both white-ball squads for the senior tour that followed, and a brisk BBL start highlighted by 96 from 70 balls against Sydney Thunder. Form tailed off later in the Big Bash, and a hurried trip to Pakistan for a T20I series brought limited time at the crease. In the longer format his highest Shield score is 81, made two rounds ago, again versus Tasmania.
“I still feel like I’m batting well,” Philippe insisted. “It’s certainly a challenge sort of jumping in and out of the different teams and squads.”
National selectors have hinted that any further T20I chances are likely to come in the middle order, a shift from the opening role he often fills in domestic cricket. “I think the challenge is, from a T20 perspective, it’s probably looking like more of a down-the-order role,” he explained. “In that keeper position, they’ve obviously got a lot of firepower at the top of the order. So I guess it’s just continuing to develop those skills in my game as well.”
Philippe pointed out that he started his senior career batting lower, so the switch should not feel alien. “I started my career in the middle, so it’s not completely abnormal, but I haven’t done much of it recently. I certainly pride myself on adaptability.”
NSW’s route to Wednesday’s final was secured by a thrilling run-chase against the Tigers last week, Philippe setting the tone with 58 from just 29 deliveries. Team-mates speak of a relaxed yet purposeful build-up: bowlers refining plans for Bellerive’s typically lively surface, batters drilling the square boundaries that so often decide limited-overs fixtures there.
Tasmania, for their part, hold home advantage and will start with a fresh attack after rotating quicks late in the group stage. They have beaten NSW once already this season, though the Blues’ recent chase should temper any psychological edge.
The narrative, inevitably, hovers around Shipperd. A four-time BBL winner with the Sixers and Melbourne Stars, plus a host of state titles stretching back to his Victoria tenure, he remains one of Australia’s most respected mentors. New South Wales would like Wednesday evening to end with another medal in his collection and, perhaps just as importantly, a dressing-room toast that says thank you.
Whether they manage it will depend on familiar basics: a good start with the new ball, restraint against Tasmania’s spinners, and cool heads in the closing overs. Simple stuff on paper, but finals seldom read from tidy scripts.
