Vernon Philander ‘defends’ constant fitness problems

Proteas pace bowler Vernon Philander, who has been under fire for suffering a run of injuries, said on Tuesday that it was difficult for top bowlers to recover from niggles because they don’t have much time for rehabilitation.

Philander has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh starting in Potchefstroom on Thursday and also missed the fourth and final Test against England in Manchester due to a back injury.

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But the 32-year-old will, presuming he passes a fitness test on Wednesday morning, play for the Cape Cobras against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth in a Sunfoil Series match also starting on Thursday, and, all going well, should then be available for the second Test against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein.

“The second Test is still the plan and I’ve rehabbed well. Now it’s just a case of getting bowling fit, getting the overs and time in my legs, but I’m feeling much stronger. The problem is I had not had time for rehab because I was playing, to get that bowling fitness back up.

“It’s about management of the players because you don’t want to over-use them, because that’s when you become more injury-prone. It’s about making the right decisions around when we play and when do we rest and build up our fitness again,” Philander said.

The bowling all-rounder was harshly criticised for a lack of fitness by former Proteas captain Graeme Smith, and even by current skipper Faf du Plessis, in a rarely-seen public criticism of a teammate.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and myself and Faf have clear lines of communication and we had a good chat afterwards. His views are clear and so are mine, it was an open and honest discussion and quite constructive,” Philander said.

The bowler with a stunning record of 171 wickets in 46 Tests at an average of just 22.45 said the Proteas would not be asking for pitches that specifically suit the pace bowlers in their series against Bangladesh, who have traditionally struggled with the pace, bounce and seam movement available in South Africa.

“We just want good cricket wickets, we’re not asking for any favours. There’s a lot of drought around the country so we’ll just deal with what we’re allocated. Bangladesh have grown into a very good side over the last 18-24 months, so we respect them for that, they can actually compete now,” Philander said.

Having to work harder for Bangladesh wickets is probably not a bad thing though with the strong batting line-ups of India and Australia coming to South Africa later in the summer.

Philander has not had much personal success against Bangladesh, with just two wickets in two Tests, but they were both played on the sub-continent.