Surrey have signed Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe for the remainder of the Vitality Blast competition.
The 29-year-old is available from Friday’s match at Sussex Sharks until the end of the competition. He will be available for the knockout stages, should Surrey get there.
Philippe, who was born in Western Australia, represents New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers in domestic Australian cricket. In T20 cricket, he strikes at 134.71 at an average of 25.13. With the gloves, he has taken 103 catches and 19 stumpings from his 153 matches.
Philippe has experience of playing in England, plying his trade for Taunton and Newcastle CC, before featuring in six Vitality Blast matches for Sussex in 2022. He’s also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2020/21 IPL, plus the Multan Sultans in this year’s PSL.
He joins Surrey following Australia’s white-ball tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Three Feathers sit third in the South Group of the Vitality Blast, having won three and lost three of their matches. The top two teams from each group qualify, with the two-best third place finishers taking the final two quarter-final spots. Sam Curran’s team face Sussex Sharks on Friday, before trips to Essex and Gloucestershire.
The Three Feathers will then take on Sussex Sharks (Wednesday 8 July) at the Kia Oval, before a trip to Canterbury to face our oldest rivals Kent Spitfires, ahead of finally rounding off the group stages with a match against Essex (Sunday 12 July) at home.
Alec Stewart said: “With the loss of Will Jacks and Sam Curran to England, Josh Philippe is an excellent top-order batter to bring into the group ahead of Friday’s match at Sussex.”
Josh Philippe said: “The opportunity to join Surrey was a no-brainer for me. It’s a massive club with some highly skilled players. I want to help the group push for the latter stages of the Vitality Blast.
“The Kia Oval is one of the great grounds in world cricket, so to be based there for a month will be awesome.”
