London — Should Vernon Philander need to call in a favour from his captain at Lord’s over the next few days‚ he should remind him of a certain game of football in Bangalore in November. Two days before the second Test‚ with a green pitch glinting from the middle — a pitch that looked nothing like the strip of baked‚ bald mud that had aided and abetted India’s thumping win in the first Test in Mohali — the visitors warmed up for a training session at M Chinnaswamy Stadium by having a kick-about. One silly thing led to another‚ and Philander landed on Dean Elgar’s foot badly enough for the fast bowler to rip ankle ligaments and be sidelined for eight months. Tuesday marked two days before the start of SA’s series against England. This time‚ happily‚ Philander and Elgar got through training without tripping into a terrible tango. And a good thing‚ too — Philander will lead SA’s attack and Elgar will be his captain in the absence of the paternally engaged Faf du Plessis. "We’ve got all ...
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