Vernon Philander. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
If you want to be the big cheese in the current Proteas bowling attack, don’t bother.
Much like the Australians in the recently concluded Ashes – where their four frontline bowlers each took 20 or more wickets – the Indian batsmen’s wickets have been evenly spread between South Africa’s five seamers to date.
Vernon Philander, still top of the list with 10 scalps, is very much aware of that dynamic.
“No, it’s not something difficult to adapt to I think if you can put the ego aside,” the stocky seamer said on Monday, ahead of the final Test at the Wanderers starting Wednesday.
“We all want to be that hero at the end of the day, to put up our hand and be the man of the match, but not every surface is going to allow it.
“So it’s about being mature enough to know that your end might not be the end to strike from, and to play your accordingly to make sure the other guys get the best out of their end to strike.”
The problem in such a situation then is role definition.
Every member of the Proteas’ bowling group can claim to be a “leader”, a player tasked with taking most of the wickets.
So, when does one sit back and play a supporting role?
In the Proteas’ case, the slow Centurion wicket was an ideal “audition” for the bowlers’ ability to adapt.
Once Philander realised the surface wasn’t going to be suited to him, he let the dynamic duo of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, who could extract extra pace, take over.
“It’s just to understand the role that you play,” he said.
Philander, who was credited by Ngidi for helping him take his first Test wicket, is mightily impressed by the Proteas’ newest bowling gem.
“Absolutely phenomenal talent. Lungi has pace and bounce, and to see the way he went about his business, the manner he stayed calm in. He asked a lot of questions to me and Morne and KG at mid-off or mid-on. I think it’s wonderful to see we have so many bowlers in the pipeline pumping as well. Long may it continue.”
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