Player Profile: Vernon Philander

From Kagiso to another South African player, we surely know now that they are a country that has the potential of producing some of the best cricket players in the world. Last time, we talked about the wonderful impact that Kagiso has made during his relatively short career and how he looks destined to reach the very top. Today, we would be talking about another outstanding cricket player South Africa at the other end in terms of age. That player is none other than Vernon Philander. Who is Philander and why can he be said to be one of the greatest players for South Africa?

Who is Vernon Philander?

Born in 1985, it is clear that Philander has had a long career in the game. In fact, he has played for the national side since 2007 and is one of the few players who can be fittingly called an all-rounder. When bowling, he uses his right fast and is often categorized as medium-fast.

Philander has not stayed in South Africa all his life as he also has gathered valuable experience from England. He has played for Middlesex during the year 2008 and also has also bagged a few games for Somerset during his second spell in England in 2012.

His international career has also been quite fulfilling. His very first debut fell on the very day that he turned 22. He didn’t disappoint. As 22 years, he performed what would be one of his best performance against Ireland. In a match which was held in Belfast, he took the game by the neck with four out of twelve. That was an incredible feat for him back then.

This performance no turn kept him in the running for the international side for many years to come. When 2011 came around, he made his debut in the test series and proved that he had a thing for debuts. He once against rose to the occasion and won the MVP award for his efforts. He had 5-15 from that single game. The game was against Australia.

When South Africa came face to face with Sri Lanka in their test series, he came on top once again. Consistent topping everyone on every day of the series, it was clear that he was here to stay. His 100 wickets for his country came when he played against India on home soil. In total, the number of games he had to play to get to that point was 19. To help you put that into perspective, that record is the record along with five others. It is simply a fantastic achievement for the player and one which he would remember for some time to come.

Conclusion

Vernon, the man from South Africa has surely held the world of cricket to a standstill on some occasions. He would be counting on that in his future matches as he keeps on fighting the urge to hang up those boots. We certainly would not like him to go just yet.