Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth, which starts on Friday, after suffering a recurrence of the hamstring injury that had him in doubt for the first Test. Rory Kleinveldt will replace him.
Philander bowled 30 overs in the Cape Town Test and took seven wickets. His six overs in the first innings saw him claim his eighth Test five-for. He had to leave the field after his final five-over spell on the third day when he felt pain in his left hamstring.
The same injury forced him to pull out of a first-class match two weeks ago and he required a two-week rest period but was ready for the first Test. With the second niggle coming so soon after the first, team management have decided not to risk Philander.
“Vernon’s hamstring strain will require a seven to 10 day recovery period at the very least,” Mohammed Moosajee, South African team manager – who is also a medical doctor – said. “Although he is responding to treatment received over the past few days, we feel it’s unlikely that he’ll recover in time for this week’s Test match. With the Pakistan series less than a month away, it’s not worth the risk of aggravating the injury.”
South Africa’s three Test series against Pakistan starts on February 2 and Philander will target that to make his return. He will have missed three of the 16 Tests since he made his debut in November 2011 through injury. He missed the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in 2011 with a knee problem, the Adelaide Test against Australia because of back spasms and now this coming match with a hamstring problem.
As a result, Kleinveldt will play his third Test for South Africa. Kleinveldt debuted in Brisbane where he was so nervous, he overstepped 12 times in the match and went wicketless. But he kept his place ahead of Philander in Adelaide and, despite another 11 no-balls in the match, redeemed himself by removing the Australian top three in one second-innings spell. He has only played two first-class matches at St George’s Park and this will be his first Test on home soil.
