'I could hardly afford to eat lunch' - Josh Philippe throws light on his struggles to reach the international platform

A cricketer’s journey from his home to the international arena is not easy not all. To see themselves representing their country, they often have to fight all odds to stand tall against the situations. The same was the case with Australia’s talented wicketkeeping-batsman Josh Philippe, who turned out to be one of the leading run-scorers in Big Bash League 2020-21. Philippe recently opened up on his journey and added what all he faced to reach the platform.

He added that his journey from a broke 19-year-old boy to the international platform had all the financial crisis, and he sometimes couldn’t even afford lunch. After seeing his domestic dream shattering, Philippe went to the UK to ply his trade for Newcastle Cricket Club in 2017. Being thousands of miles away from home, he found it very difficult to sustain himself, but his determination kept him moving, and he smashed 13,000 runs for the club at an average nearing 60.

“I wasn’t part of any WA squad then, and I almost felt like the dream of playing state cricket was slipping away. It is quite amazing to think back to then – I had 20 pounds in my wallet … I could hardly afford to eat lunch. It definitely made me the player I am today,” said Philippe while talking to cricket.com.au.

The 23-year-old further added that when he had to survive the odd situations, he became fearless, and that’s the same approach he instills in his game now. The Australian added that he now plays without the fear of being judged, and even if he gets out, it shouldn’t have to be a big deal. 

I’m just going to go out and play my brand of cricket: Josh Philippe

“Just going away and not being a part of any system and just working my game out for myself. That’s where I think I got that fearless approach that I play with now. Over there, it was almost like the result doesn’t matter. I’m just going to go out, play my brand of cricket, and have fun and if I get out, I get out – who cares? No one is going to judge you as a bloke based on your cricket performances. I just happened to do well over there, and I feel like that mentality just stuck with me,” he added.

He has been named in Australia’s T20 squad all set to tour New Zealand next month.