It looks like these are tough times for the South African cricket team, after being shattered 3-1 in the Test series in England, their injury vows seem to be never-ending. Dale Steyn has been out of action for a while now, and his recovery will take some time as the South African staff doesn’t want to take any risk with his fitness. On the other hand, Vernon Philander is also set to miss the first Test against Bangladesh starting 28th September.
Vernon Philander has been out of action since the England series which the Proteas lost 3-1. However, the Proteas manager Dr. Mohammed Moosajee has confirmed that Philander will be back in the second Test against Bangladesh. Philander will play in a four-day match for the Cobras as a fitness test. His selection for the second Test will be based on his fitness after the match.
Moosajee said:
“We’ve had a number of challenges on the fast bowling front, Vernon’s progress has been coming along well but he is only bowling at 80% capacity currently. The plan for him is to prepare for the four-day match for 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 in the first Test.”
Chris Morris who was being considered as a replacement for Philander is also suffering a long injury layoff and will return to action mid-October. Moosajee said:
“Chris Morris will likely return mid-October and could feature in the Bangladesh ODI series or T20I series. We won’t set a time for Dale Steyn but the plan is to get him a slow return to recovering after he suffered a setback in his injury. We are hoping he makes his return for the T20 Global League.”
The South African selection commission is in a dilemma because of this increasing list of injured players. Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada are definite starters for the first Test match, but the third spot for a fast bowler is still up for grabs. New coach Ottis Gibson has some serious places to fill in the squad.
Gibson said:
‘Coming in as a former fast bowler, I’m already concerned about having four of our fast bowlers out injured, you can’t really develop a team with that type of injury list. We have to take 20 wickets consistently to win Tests. We need a group of fast bowlers ready to perform. Everybody is involved in the selection process of players for the Proteas. The to-do list includes attending both Sunfoil games in Gauteng. My job is to get the talent we have to perform on the field and reach our targets.’