What really was Vernon Philander? A nagging pace bowler with subtle seam movement, a bit of swing, loads of heart and relentless in his pursuit of wickets? Just about. Hailing from a country where pace bowlers actually had pace, Philander’s challenge to stand out from the pack was huge. 120-odd dibbly dobblies would not cut it at Wanderers or Newlands they said.
Then he had Australia bowled out for a paltry 47 at Newlands in his Test debut in 2011 and they put it down to extravagant seam movement on a wicket where even Shane Watson had a five-for. Then he did it again. And again. And again.
“When you don’t have pace, you need other skills to come to the party. Over the years, you learn the more consistent you can be, irrespective of what pace you bowl at, you will be effective. We just have to make sure we are not just worried about pace all the time. We need to make sure we are nipping the ball and that we can swing the ball, because those are assets in the game that will make you a great bowler one day. We need to make sure we keep those skills alive,” Philander said after his final Test match as revealed by ESPNCricinfo.
After 64 Test matches, he ends his career with 224 wickets – seventh-best in South Africa’s all-time list – at an average of 22.32 and a strike rate of 50.8. Snaring 13 five-wicket hauls, Philander walks away into the twilight with a demerit point, but he isn’t walking away from cricket. A deal with Somerset awaits the South African pacer much like how Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and the likes bid adieu.
But there are promises being made of returning to the country to unearth new talent like himself. Unlike the elite schools that churn out talents in the country, Philander comes from a more rugged background but made it work with odds stacked against him. He talked about his background and how it helps in developing other skills like “survival” and “always finding a way” which training sessions or elite schools cannot teach.
As Philander leaves, he knows South African cricket is in dire straits. But there is hope for the future and much like Faf du Plessis, Philander added that the fans need to be patient with the Proteas in this transition period.
“We are at the start of a new generation. It’s a pretty young team, a pretty new team and you have to allow people to settle into positions. We South Africans are pretty quick to criticise. There’s a lot of young players in the team and we’ve got to allow them a bit of time to settle in. Only then will the wheels start turning with regards to performances.”