Philander still confident his drought will come to an end
IF Vernon Philander hits you on the pads, you’re out. If he gets anywhere near the edge of your bat, you’re out. If he honours you with an appeal for your wicket for whatever reason, you’re out.
So much so that he has become the butt of a good-natured joke. Philander should, the punchline goes, complete his follow-through by forming a T with his forearms — the signal to refer a decision to the third umpire.
Philander is aggressive and competitive enough to believe that each of his deliveries has the potential to take a wicket. He has been proved right 121 times in 29 tests. Dale Steyn’s strike rate of 41.6 is SA’s all-time best, but Philander’s 47.2 is second on that list among active bowlers and fourth overall.
Only 13 times in 56 bowling innings has Philander not taken a wicket. However, he has felt that empty feeling seven times in less than a year. That marks a stark contrast from his first 13 bowling innings, when he took 51 wickets.
At his home ground, Newlands, where he claimed 31 wickets in his first nine innings, he has gone three innings without a single success.
Philander is bowling as well as he was when his wickets mounted, when the subtle swing and modicum of movement he obtained, and the disciplined line and length he maintained, forced errors by the finest batsmen. But, for now, his well of wickets is dry.
Has the Philander phenomenon flopped?
“The wicket [at Newlands for the Windies test] was a touch on the slow side and there was a lot of playing and missing — on other days, you might find the edge,” Philander said.
“I’m bowling as well as I have done in the past. Sometimes the results don’t show it, but I’m still confident. The wheel turns and your luck turns with it; my time will come again.
“I’m doing what I have to do by bowling well and creating chances. It’s just not happening at the moment.”
Success, he said, was measured in team victories, not wickets taken by individuals.
“As long as we take 20 wickets we’re all doing our jobs properly. As long as we understand each other and your role within the team, that helps. The confidence shown in you by the rest of the team also helps.”
Fresh from topping the averages in the series against the West Indies — and taking as many wickets as spearhead Dale Steyn — Morne Morkel no doubt felt secure enough to speak more freely on fast bowlers’ fears.
“I’ve been there, where I’ve felt I’ve bowled very well and the catches have been dropped, or the ball won’t carry, or the batsmen can’t hit the ball,” Morkel said.
“It’s that frustrating phase for
I’m bowling as well as I did. Sometimes the results don’t show it. The wheel turns and your luck turns with it; my time will come again
a fast bowler where you just need to bite your bottom lip and get through and take wickets again. I’ve been through stages where I’ve wondered where my next wicket would come from. But once you break that spell, the wickets will come.
“Vernon is doing all the right things and he’s training well. So it’s not a matter of guys working him out. Batsmen have known for years that Dale swings the ball away and he’s been taking 10-fors and five-fors left, right and centre.
“Sometimes you feel as if you are not delivering for the bowling unit, but the overs Vernon has bowled put a lot of pressure on the batsmen. He got the wickets from the other end.”
He did, and remember: if he hits you on the pads, you’re out.