Philander shares Lord’s wisdom as Proteas prepare for World Test Championship final

As South Africa prepare for their biggest red-ball challenge in over a decade, one of the country's most accomplished seamers is playing a key role off the field. Vernon Philander, the former Test bowling spearhead, has been passing on his deep knowledge of Lord’s to the Proteas’ current crop of fast bowlers — the same venue where he once etched his name into history.

The Proteas are gearing up for a daunting World Test Championship Final against Australia at the London ground, which still holds a special place in the heart of the former all-rounder.

Philander took a memorable five-for in the second innings of the Proteas’ Test victory against England at Lord’s in the summer of 2012, securing his place on the Lord’s honours board. The Cape Town-born Philander, who took 224 Test wickets in a storied career, has also built up a solid knowledge base on the hallowed arena from his time in county cricket.

He was especially devastating with new ball in hand, alongside speedster Dale Steyn, and expects the new ball to once again be crucial for the current Proteas bowlers.

“Between myself and Dale, we wanted to start well,” the current cricket commentator said at the Proteas’ send-off in Johannesburg last week. "That new ball is going to be key.

"The Aussies are a team that want to get on the front foot as quick as they possibly can, playing aggressive cricket. Whether it’s the new ball or slightly older ball, they’ll come hard at it

“So, it’s important that whoever is going to take the new ball in this once-off Test, will have to start well.”

Among the technical adjustments the Proteas’ bowling attack will have to make is getting used to the Duke ball, whose seam is more pronounced than the Kookaburra that both SA and Australian players are more used to.

“The control factor, obviously, it’s a shift up in the way that you think, in the way that you deliver the ball,” Philander explained of the Duke.

"If they can get used to that quickly, then you have to factor in overhead conditions at Lord’s, which will play a massive part – the slow ball plays a part. But if it’s really good conditions, it can be an absolute belter to bat on.

“The Duke definitely swings more than the Kookaburra. I think the new Duke ball offers up some scoring opportunities because it has a lacquer on the outside, which you first have to get rid of before it starts swinging.

“I always feel that first 10 overs it’s quite nice as a batter because the ball comes onto the bat. But once the ball has lost that lacquer, it will offer up a bit more for the bowlers.

“So it’s working out what’s going to make you effective in those conditions, and I do feel that from an overall skills perspective, we’ve got most bases covered.”

Philander sees the right-arm pace of Kagiso Rabada as an ideal counterpoint to the left-arm swing of the lanky Marco Jansen. The skill and control of bowlers such as Dane Paterson, Lungi Ngidi, and Wiaan Mulder also provide a balanced line-up.

The 39-year-old also favours going into the June 11 Test with four seamers.

“If conditions are overcast, that ball will swing from ball one, so you want to fire up KG. With the new ball, he sets the tone,” Philander said.

“If there’s swing on offer, you maybe want Jansen coming in from the other end — one bowler nipping the ball away, the other bringing it back.”

He also offered insight into how to exploit the famous Lord’s slope: “If the ball was swinging, I liked going against the slope.

"Every now and then, one nips away, and that’s enough to plant the seed of doubt. Batters start playing at balls they don’t want to play at.”

The Proteas,meanwhile, will also have a unique opportunity to gain local insights when former England paceman Stuart Broad joins the squad as a consultant on June 9. He will work with the team for a day to assist with final preparations for the championship decider.

Meanwhile, the South Africa cricket was rocked by the unexpected retirement of wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen, who called time on his international career at 33-years old. The explosive right-hander played 122 matches for South Africa across all three formats after making his debut in 2018.