Vernon Philander could return for the second Test on October 6

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

South Africa will be without pace bowler Vernon Philander for the first Test against Bangladesh, while all-rounder Chris Morris has been ruled out for the entire two-Test series.

Philander is still recovering from a back injury he picked up during the recent Test series against England.

However, the 32-year-old, who was heavily criticised for his fitness levels during the England series, could feature in the second Test in Bloemfontein on October 6 if he features and makes it through a first-class match for the Cape Cobras on September 28. 

“We’ve had a number of challenges on the fast bowling front,” South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “The first to chat about is Vernon Philander. During the Test series in England, he dived for a ball and injured his lower back.

“His progress has been coming along well but he is only bowling at 80% capacity currently. The plan for him is to prepare for the four day match against the Cobras beginning on 28 September. Should he come through that, he should be available for the second Test against Bangladesh.

“At the moment, he is only building up to full intensity so we are not going to risk him to play during the first Test.”

Meanwhile, Morris is also nursing a back niggle, but while his injury is expected to take 10 weeks to heal, he could possibly take part in the limited overs portion of the series against Bangladesh.

“If he is symptom free he might be available for the Bangladesh ODI series but the T20 series is more of a reality,” Moosajee said.

Elsewhere, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is on the verge of fully recovering from a lumbar fracture. According to Moosajee, the 21-year-old is set to make his comeback in mid-October.

“He is now in his final stages of rehab,” Moosajee added.

When asked about Dale Steyn, who ruled himself out of Bangladesh series, Moosajee made it clear that the veteran seamer will be given all the time he needs to make a full recovery after he strained a muscle in his right shoulder, which he had surgically repaired last year.

As of now, it is likely that Steyn will make his long-awaited return at the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League, where he will play for the Cape Town Knight Riders.

“For the past six weeks, the plan was very much to have him ready to start the four-day Sunfoil match for the Titans starting today but unfortunately last week he developed a strain to the muscle in his troublesome right shoulder,” Moosajee said. “We are not going to set an artificial timeline for Dale Steyn.

“The plan right now is to get him ready for competitive cricket when he is ready and we are hoping that it will be a slow and graduated return to full intensity bowling. In reality the target will only be the Global T20 in November.”

The first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh gets underway on September 28 in Potchefstroom.