Vernon Philander has admitted South Africa “had a few hard chats” in the wake of the 239-run defeat in the third Test that left them 2-1 down with one to play at Old Trafford starting on Friday.
South Africa lost three wickets for no runs at The Oval as Moeen Ali spun England to victory with a hat-trick but Philander blamed the tourists’ defeat on their collapse in the first innings when at one point they were 61 for seven.
“We’ve got an honesty policy within the side and we all admitted it wasn’t our best Test match,” said the fast bowler, who endured a stomach complaint throughout the Test. “We let ourselves down with the bat in the first innings, so we’re looking forward to correcting those mistakes in this one and hoping to level the series.”
Philander spent the second night of the third Test in hospital on a drip and was frequently unable to bowl as he had to make back time he had spent off the pitch ill. He has 10 wickets in the series, all of them claimed against England’s top-order batsmen, and believes his absences were a factor in South Africa’s defeat.
“I’m obviously quite an important part of the lineup,” he said. “Bowling at 70% or 80% I could feel that my intensity was missed. If you can’t go at 100% and the conditions are suited for you as well, it was really frustrating that [I] couldn’t be out there and bowl longer spells.
“It was a tough week personally. Being on the loo for quite a bit and having to go out to bowl was draining. I couldn’t really keep anything down but I’m feeling a lot better now.”
England – who were joined in training on Wednesday by Dominic Cork, the Yorkshire spinner Azeem Rafiq and the England women’s head and assistant coaches, Mark Robinson and Ali Maiden – will be hoping Toby Roland-Jones, who took four wickets in the first 33 balls he bowled in Test cricket and eight in the match, can maintain his form at Old Trafford.
The Middlesex seamer said he would put that performance behind him and “start from scratch” on Friday. “It’s a case of reverting back to type,” he said. “I’m someone who looks to be as simplistic as possible in the way that I approach and my processes for bowling.”
At The Oval he benefited from the advice of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad – “people like that help you push your game further,” he said – but it was the congratulations of the former England seamer Angus Fraser, the managing director at Middlesex and an England selector, that meant the most. “I have been part of Middlesex for eight years and he has played a huge role in aiding me on and off the pitch,” said Roland-Jones. “To share that [performance] with him was special.”
However, he also jokingly admitted his policy with Fraser was to “keep him sweet since he’s an England selector”.
England have yet to make a decision on the team for Old Trafford and, despite the balance they appeared to find at The Oval when using one specialist spinner, they may recall Liam Dawson to the side after rain in Manchester left the outfield and pitch soggy, and without the wicket’s customary bounce for fast bowlers.
