Faf du Plessis considers Philander’s absence was a huge loss

The Proteas had a bitter time playing in the English conditions this summer. They first lost the ODI series, then had a poor Champions Trophy, lost the T20 series and then were beaten 3-1 in the recently concluded Test series. The Proteas captain Faf du Plessis termed that the English bowling attack was superb and absolutely relentless throughout the Test series. However, he did feel that the absence and fitness issues of all-rounder Vernon Philander did cost them the series.

The right-arm pacer claimed 10 wickets in the 3 Tests and also scored 177 runs. He played a vital role in the 2nd Test by claiming a five-wicket-haul and scoring 54 and 42 runs respectively. As a result of Philander’s match winning performance, the visitors registered a convincing win in the 2nd Test by 340 runs. However, the 32-year old was not 100% fit in the 3rd Test, due to stomach pain and was ruled out for the same from the final Test at Old Trafford too.

‘Philander is one of our best players’

Skipper Faf du Plessis considered Philander’s absence a big loss for the Test side. “For us to have competed and to win Test matches we needed Vern, you need your best players,” the Proteas captain told reporters following South Africa’s first Test series loss in England since 1998.

Duanne Olivier replaced Vernon Philander for the final Test match of the series.”Duanne (Olivier) bowled well this game but Vern is one of the best in these conditions, probably the best in seaming, swinging conditions which has been the case in all four Test matches, so not having him here was very frustrating and disappointing,” added Faf.

Vernon’s fitness concerns

As seen in the past, the fast bowler has had major fitness issues and is not able to play consistently during a series. “The last I spoke to you (the media) I said he’s just got to do a small fitness test but he’ll be fine. So when he woke up with a stiff back the next morning it was frustrating. It is a challenge for Vern because it’s happened too often that he doesn’t play a full series. I’ve spoken to him about that and he’s accepted the challenge and that he needs to improve that,” Faf explained.

“We have important series coming up, not that we play series that are not important, but India and Australia at home, its eight Test matches and he needs to be fit to get through all of them. There have just been too many times when we as a team go (gulp) ‘Vern might be injured again’,” concluded Faf du Plessis.