Vernon Philander 'curious' about India's ability to play away from home!
India’s home record, even if it’s been overwhelmingly dominant, won’t matter when the first Test against South Africa starts at Newlands in Cape Town.
And South Africa are going to play the ball and not the man, whether batting or bowling, regardless of famous names in the opposition.
Those were the two peeks into the home team’s mindset that Vernon Philander offered on Wednesday (January 3), two days before the start of the first Test.
When asked what he made of India’s reputation as being much better players of fast bowling now than in the past, Philander was succinct, and also suggested that the true barometer of how good India had become against pace would be known after the opening Test. “They have played most of their games at home so it’ll be interesting to see how they go in South Africa. It’s a total different ball game. We’re going to have to wait and see once they pass the first Test match.”
It was not quite an Australia level verbal volley, but it was very far from a diplomatic, ‘We know what they are capable of and they have the records to prove it. We’ll just do our best’ or some variant thereof.
He was also forthright enough to state that he would like to bat at No.7, a position he has batted in only eight times in 62 innings across 47 Tests. “Yeah, my shoe size is nine and a half so I’m not too fazed by it,” he quipped, when it was suggested his ideal position seemed to be seven and a half. “But thing is, I would like to bat at No. 7, it gives me a bit more responsibility and also gives me a bit more time to bat with some of top-order batters. Look, at the end of the day, selectors have to make the decision and hopefully the right one.”
It all spoke of a quiet confidence in Philander, and possibly the South African team itself. They ought to be confident too, with a rare full-strength squad to choose from and home conditions on offer.
But what of India’s own personnel, with pedigree in both batting and bowling?
“We’ve got to control what we can, and that’s to make sure we’re in a good space,” he shrugged when asked what the talk in the home camp was about India’s pace attack. “Our batters are obviously in good nick. We play the ball and not the man. We’re going to respect the Indian seamers, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. Hopefully our batters can get the runs on the board.
And similarly, on bowling to Virat Kohli. “Like I said before, we are going to play bat and ball and not playing any names. We’ve got to get Virat and the other nine Indian batsmen as well. I think we put our price obviously on bowling them out twice.”
To bowl India out twice, Philander might well be one of South Africa’s key factors. The pitch sported a generous covering of green, and seemed tailor made for the bowler who can wobble it just that bit in the air, and who can move the ball off the seam those crucial centimetres which attack the edges of the bat. Philander though, was pragmatic in his assessment of the surface, despite being asked about it in several different ways.
“I wouldn’t say it’s greener (than usual),” he said. “I have played all my life here. I’ve seen a lot of similar wickets and they haven’t done much. Obviously there’s a little bit of grass there but I don’t think it’s going to scare anyone. The day is obviously hot. Tomorrow is hot. I think by the time the Test match starts, it’ll be a little drier. The wicket changes quite quickly here. It depends on the type of wind that blows here as well. By Friday morning, it’ll be a total different looking wicket.”
There is also the question of a strong north-western wind coming into the equation, and making the ball dance even if the pitch flattens out. “You are obviously playing at Newlands and you probably are going to get nicked off more times than being bounced off. But it depends on the type of wind that blows here as well. You might get days, there is grass but it’s absolutely flat. You get some days, the North-Western blows and the ball goes around the park when there’s not much grass on there,” explained Philander.
All that environment-friendly talk of green also meant the question naturally revolved around who would form South Africa’s attack, and whether it would be four pacers or the more conventional three alongside the impressive Keshav Maharaj. Ottis Gibson, the coach, had already hinted that Dale Steyn could be the one to sit out.
“I think, it’s going to come down to the conditions at the end of the day,” said Philander. “Obviously, with a little grass on the wicket, who knows on Friday morning if the overheads are playing in favour, then you might consider four seamers. But at the end of the day, our composition of three seamers and one spinner has worked very well in the last sort of 18-24 months. Look I think it’s a good dilemma to have when you have all your fast bowlers fit and bowling well in all three formats … But it’s still two days out (to the Test) so we’ll see where the wicket is at on Friday morning.”
https://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-news/well-play-bat-ball-man-confident-philander/285357
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