Phillips attended
Queen's College in
Queenstown, where he excelled at sports. He was offered a scholarship to
Stellenbosch University, but instead returned to work on the family farm at
Tarkastad. He and Farrer won their first-round match in the men's doubles, but lost in the second. Phillips played as a middle-order batsman in three
first-class matches for Border in 1957–58 and 1958–59. He played for the South African Country Districts XI for 19 years,
captaining them for 16 years. ==References==