Philander takes one wicket at a time

Until yesterday, Vernon Philander had never heard of Charlie Turner. To be fair to him, not many other people knew of Turner either.

But as the South African medium-fast bowler’s outstanding start to international cricket continued to gain speed, the thoughts of some turned to whether he might overtake Turner as the fastest man in history to 50 test wickets.

In the end, Philander fell a game short. Having finished the second test of this series, at Hamilton, with 45 wickets from six tests, he had to wait until yesterday at the Basin Reserve to bring up his halfcentury.

When he bowled Doug Bracewell, on his way to an eventual haul of six for 81, Philander joined Tom Richardson as the second-quickest in history. Not that he was wholly aware, given Turner took his 50th wicket in 1888 and Richardson eight years later.

‘‘Funnily enough, someone mentioned it to me earlier today out on the boundary fence – Charlie Turner and 1888. If you ask me, I wouldn’t know about 1888. No research whatsoever,’’ Philander said when asked whether he was aware of his place in history.

Not that he’s unhappy to occupy it.

‘‘Each wicket is important. It has come at a rapid pace but I’ll take it one pole [wicket] at a time. I’m just happy.’’

His family and friends had congratulated him on reaching 50, ‘‘but there are some higher stepping stones further down the line. I’d like to think that I’ll keep my feet on the ground.’’

Not one to give a great deal away, you suspect that taking a methodical approach and not letting success get to his head have been as important to Philander as his impeccable line and length. He is unlikely to injure batsmen, the way teammate Morne Morkel did Ross Taylor yesterday, but Philander can wound them mentally.

‘‘A few of their guys don’t like the short ball. It’s been part of our plan to exploit the short-pitched bowling and rough them up. It’s not part of my plan but we have the firepower in Morne and Dale [Steyn] and we use it to best effect,’’ he said.