Birthday special: Vernon Philander – Five best spells by South Africa’s swing wizard
He had the ability to swing the ball both ways and swung the red cherry at a good pace. Vernon Philander was an integral part of the South African pace bowling attack in his Test career that lasted almost a decade. Philander featured in 64 Test matches for South Africa and picked up 224 wickets. He also scalped as many as 13 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. Let us delve deep into the five best spells from Philander in Tests on the occasion of his 36th birthday.
5) 6/44 vs New Zealand (2012)
Vernon Philander’s sizzling spell of 6/44 in the second innings allowed South Africa to beat the Kiwis with 9 wickets to spare. New Zealand scored 185 in the first innings, and South Africa replied with a total of 253. Philander flummoxed the Kiwi batting lineup in the second innings and took a six-wicket haul, as New Zealand were bowled out for just 168. South Africa chased down the target of 101 with 9 wickets intact.
Philander won the Player of the Match award for his performance.
4) 5/15 vs Australia (2011)
In the first innings, the South African side was bowled out for just 96, in reply to Australia’s total of 284. The Aussies had the advantage going into the second innings, but Philander sliced through their batting line-up and picked up a five-wicket haul, giving away just 15 runs. And, the kangaroos were bowled out for just 47. South Africa chased down the target of 236 runs with 8 wickets to spare.
3) 6/42 vs India (2018)
In this encounter, South Africa batted first and posted 286 runs, for which India replied with a total of 209. The Proteas were shot out for just 130 in the second innings, which meant that the Indian side needed 208 for victory. And, that is when Philander sent down a sensational spell of fast bowling. He cleaned up the Indian batting line-up, took 6 wickets, and gave away 42 runs, as the Indian side was shot out for just 135, handing the Proteas a 72-run victory.
2) 5/7 vs New Zealand (2013)
The New Zealand side was shot out for just 45 in their first innings, due to Vernon Philander’s fiery spell with the ball. The right-arm pacer took 5 wickets in the 6 overs that he bowled and gave away just 7 runs as well. South Africa replied with a mammoth total of 347. New Zealand were bowled out for a total of 275 in their second innings and lost the match by an innings and 27 runs.
1) 6/21 vs Australia (2018)
The best spell of Vernon Philander’s career came in the year 2018 against Australia. South Africa scored 488 in their first innings, to which Australia replied with 221. The Proteas scored 344 in their second innings and set the kangaroos a target of 612 for victory. And, Philander produced a master class with the ball in the second innings. He took 6 wickets, and gave away 21 runs in his 13-over spell, as the Aussies were bowled out for a paltry total of 119, handing South Africa a crushing 492-run victory.
