Philander set for international return

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander will return to international action for the first time in eight months on Saturday after recovering from ankle ligament damage.

The 31-year-old quick, who picked up the injury during a warm-up game of football in India last November, will play a four-day match for South Africa A against Zimbabwe in Harare.

Philander will then travel to Australia for the 'A' series matches to be played in Queensland next month.

The ankle injury forced Philander to return home early from the India tour and he missed South Africa's subsequent series against England where they were beaten, leading to them losing the world No.1 Test ranking.

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But Philander has since made three first-class appearances for Western Province and Cape Cobras at the end of last season, taking 10 wickets.

He sees playing for South Africa 'A' as a route back to the Test team for next month's two-match series against New Zealand.

"The body's feeling real good. I've obviously been out for quite a few months," Philander said.

"I never quite knew the severity of the injury until a couple of months after and it's been coming and going.

"But these last few weeks it's really been holding up."

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The return of the right-arm seamer would be a boost to South Africa, whose pace attack also missed the injured Dale Steyn as they lost 2-1 to England in the four-Test home series.

Philander, who has taken 126 wickets in 32 Tests at an average of 22.08, is in the A team squad for two matches in Zimbabwe plus two in Australia at the end of the month.

Not only will Philander be hoping to prove his own fitness, but he will also be looking to nurture some of South Africa's seam-bowling future, the likes of Sisanda Magala, Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and Hardus Viljoen.

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"As much as it's about me getting back, it's also about me sharing my knowledge with these younger guys out here," Philander said.

"I'm certainly looking forward to the first trip to Zimbabwe and the Australian one straight afterwards.

"As long as I can help the younger ones coming through, I think I'll be playing my part in South African cricket." 

Australia A squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Cameron Boyce, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, Sam Heazlett, Moises Henriques, Jake Lehmann, Chris Lynn, Joe Mennie, Kurtis Patterson, Joel Paris, Matt Renshaw, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Chris Tremain, Dan Worrall, Sam Whiteman.

South Africa A four-day squad: Stephen Cook (c), Qaasim Adams, Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas, Hardus Viljoen 

South Africa A one-day squad: Wayne Parnell (c), Qaasim Adams, Marchant de Lange, Reeza Hendricks, Heino Kuhn, Eddie Leie, Sisanda Magala, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Malusi Siboto, Khaya Zondo, David Miller, Dane Vilas 

India A squad: Naman Ojha (capt), Faiz Fazal, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Barinder Sran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sanju Samson.

Fixtures

Four-day matches 

30 July – 2 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
6 August – 9 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

One-day Series

13 August, South Africa A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
14 August, Australia A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
16 August, Australia A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
17 August, South Africa A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
20 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
21 August, India A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
24 August, NPS v Australia A, Harrup Park, Mackay
25 August, South Africa A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
27 August, NPS v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
28 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Harrup Park, Mackay
30 August, Australia A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay
31 August, South Africa A v NPS, Harrup Park, Mackay
3 September; Final 3 v 4, Harrup Park, Mackay
4 September, Final 1 v 2, Harrup Park, Mackay

Four-day matches

8-11 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
15-18 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane