South African Test find of the season, Vernon Philander, will be hoping for a continuation of his form at international level when he turns out for the Cape Cobras against the Knights at Newlands from tomorrow.
Philander is expected to be back in action for his franchise side in the SuperSport Series clash after recovering from a right ankle niggle, and he will bring much-needed bite to the bowling ranks of the defending champions.
The Cobras are 1.40 points behind log-leaders the Titans, and Philander says the team is looking to bag a good haul of bonus points and a victory over the Knights, to enable them to go top again before the last round of games next week.
“The key is to get the win in this game, and take over the No 1 position,” said Philander.
The Cobras will of course be watching the clash between the Titans and the Warriors in East London with keen interest.
In the past two seasons, Justin Kemp’s side has finished well in the final rounds of the competition to frustrate the Titans’ title aspirations, but this time around they have the catching up to do.
With Philander back, the Cobras will be no one-man show, but he enjoyed stunning success in the Proteas shirt at fortress Newlands this summer. In his debut Test against Australia in November, he took 8-78 in the match, including 5-15 in the tourists’ second innings total of 47. Then, in the New Year’s Test against Sri Lanka, Philander claimed 6-100 in the match, to move to 30 wickets at an average of 13.23 in his first four Tests.
“Hopefully I can pick a few more wickets there this week,” he said.
Philander could also play in the Cobras’ final four-day match, against the Lions at the Wanderers from February 9-12, but if the franchise by then does not have a good chance of winning the title, he could be rested in the national interest.
The Proteas limited overs players leave next week for New Zealand where the first match, a warm-up game, is set for February 15. Philander and other Test-only players leave for the Antipodes on March 1.
For the Cobras the injury news on Philander’s long-time bowling mate, Rory Kleinveldt, may not be as good. Last week while the Cobras were playing the Titans in Paarl, Kleinveldt was bowling without discomfort in the nets, but he may not have recovered sufficiently to see match action this week.
If he is out of the reckoning, the third seamer’s spot could go to one of Johan Bothma or veteran Charl Langeveldt.
Two more players likely to return this week are captain Justin Kemp and JP Duminy, which will make the selection decision on the make-up of the batting unit a tough one.
Next week, however, New Zealand-bound Duminy, Justin Ontong, Richard Levi and Robin Peterson will probably be unavailable.
In the Knights camp, spinning all-rounder Aubrey Swanepoel looks set to take the place of regular Ryan Bailey on the basis of his excellent batting form for Griqualand West in the three-day provincial competition.
Swanepoel’s four centuries in a total of 721 runs this season have helped Griquas assume top spot in the amateur competition. As a useful off-spinner, he will provide another slow bowling option for the Knights, in addition to Werner Coetsee.
Cape Cobras (from): Andrew Puttick, Yaseen Vallie, Stiaan van Zyl, Justin Ontong, JP Duminy, Richard Levi, Dane Vilas, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Johann Louw, Charl Langeveldt, Johan Bothma
Knights (possible): Reeza Hendricks, Michael Erlank, Rilee Rossouw, Boeta Dippenaar, Morne van Wyk (captain), Aubrey Swanepoel, Ryan McLaren, Werner Coetsee, Johan van der Wath, Quinton Friend, Malusi Siboto - Cape Argus