Philander out of first Test against Bangladesh

South Africa

Cricket365
September 19, 2017

South Africa seamer Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on 28 September, while Chris Morris will miss the entire Test series due to injury.

Philander missed the final Test against England with a back injury and Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee confirmed that the allrounder will not be risked for the first Test against the Tigers.

The plan is for the 32-year-old to come through a domestic first-class fixture before being considered for the second Test, in Bloemfontein from 6 October, against the tourists.

Moosajee said: “We’ve had a number of challenges on the fast bowling front. The first to chat about is Vernon Philander.

“During the Test series in England, he dived for a ball and injured his lower back. His progress has been coming along well but he is only bowling at 80 per cent capacity currently.

“The plan for him is to prepare for the four day match against the Cobras beginning on 28 September. Should he come through that, he should be available for the second Test against Bangladesh.

“At the moment, he is only building up to full intensity so we are not going to risk him to play during the first Test.”

Morris, who also missed the final Test in England with a back complaint, will be out for around 10 weeks and will miss both Tests against the Tigers with Moosajee saying the first T20I against the same opponents on 26 October is a realistic date to come back.

Without Philander and Morris, the Proteas could go into the first Test against Bangladesh with a pace bowling attack of Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier.

Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks and others could play themselves into contention for a Test place in the first-round of domestic first-class fixtures that started on Tuesday.

The South Africa squad for the Bangladesh Test series will be announced towards the end of the domestic games.