Philander eyes county deal to stay match fit

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South Africa seamer Vernon Philander is looking to clinch a deal to play county cricket as he continues his comeback to competitive action following an ankle injury.

According to Philander's agent, Arthur Turner, the right-arm bowler will play the final two domestic games with the Cape Cobras this season before seeking a contract in English cricket to keep him match fit.

Philander will be hoping to be in the national selectors' thoughts when they pick the squad for the Proteas' ODI triangular series in the West Indies, which also features Australia, in June.

The 30-year-old has been out since with the injury since November last year on the tour to India and missed the all games against England at home, including four Tests and five ODIs.

Turner told Cricinfo: "The plan is for Vernon to play the two first-class matches at home and then maybe look to go over to the UK for a period of time to play there. He wants to make sure he gets game time.

"If something comes up somewhere, Vernon will definitely consider it because he wants to play now that he is fit. He worked very hard to get himself back to playing. He always knew that the injury would heal but it took longer than expected.

"Once the international season was over and he could see he wasn't going to play, he gave it as much time as he could to make sure there will no problems in future."

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