Vernon Philander to make a return to competitive cricket after injury

South African mainstay as far as pace department is concerned in Tests, Vernon Philander is scheduled to make his return to First-Class cricket early this week after being named in the Cobras squad against Dolphins starting Monday.

The last time Vernon Philander featured in a cricket match was back in July when he suffered a bug in his stomach during the third Test match against England at Oval. It was anticipated that the bowler would turn up in the final Test match of the series at Manchester but back spasms prohibited the pacer to take part in the match.

Philander was not considered in the South African squad for the 2-match Test series against Bangladesh but has made himself available for the inaugural four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe to be played on the Boxing Day.

With the delay of the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, the Proteans are not scheduled to play any long-form cricket due to the window created for the event. As a result, the domestic franchise T20 competition is expected to be brought forward and, if fit, Philander will feature for Cobras in that event as well.

Miller and Du Plessis also injured during Bangladesh series

Another major South African name missing out in the bowling department is their spearhead Dale Steyn who has been missing out for a substantial amount due to a shoulder injury. It was reported by Espncricinfo that Steyn would be targetting a November return.

That said, there is no confirmation on the availability of Morne Morkel, Chris Morris or Wayne Parnell, who are recovering from a side-strain, a back problem and a groin injury respectively. Titans speedster Lungi Ngidi as been named in the franchise’s four-day squad to play this week.

The never-ending list of injuries also hit batters such as David Miller, who missed out on the last couple of matches against Bangladesh due to a groin injury, and Faf du Plessis who retire hurt in East London after sustaining an acute lower-back strain while batting.