Get the Proteas more Tests, pleads Vernon Philander

Former Proteas bowler Vernon Philander has pleaded with Cricket SA to fight for the men’s team to get more opportunities to play Test cricket.

South Africa have played the fewest Tests — seven — than any nation in the current ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, surpassed even by Bangladesh (nine), who in the past themselves saw little Test cricket in their itinerary.

While the Proteas are at the bottom as far as matches played are concerned, top-ranked nations such as the “big three” — England (19), India (13) and Australia (12) — have seen steady growth in red-ball action.

Philander, who took 224 wickets in 64 Test matches, called out South Africa’s cricket bosses, pleading that they push for the men’s team to play more red-ball cricket.

Cricket SA CEO Pholetsi Moseki previously indicated that a lack of fan support was one of the reasons the Proteas were playing so little five-day cricket.

The high cost of hosting a Test match in the ICC’s Future Tour Programme also played a role.

He said the reason the “big three” were able to play more Test matches was that they attracted “bums on seats”, which then drew lucrative broadcasting deals.

But Philander feels CSA should challenge the ICC and ask for big teams to regularly play against the Proteas.

This would make more financial sense, he said.

“It is a talking point that needs to start at Cricket SA level. They need to demand more Test cricket.” 

South Africa needs to be pitted against the bigger nations, he said.

“According to the programme set by the ICC, we are only playing the top nations once every four years. They [CSA] have to challenge the ICC in that regard.

“In that two-year world championship cycle, they need to play the bigger nations more often. We have seen a decline in games per series.

“These guys play two Test matches; for me, three or four Test matches should be the minimum requirement when we play these top nations.

“You want to market the game and your top players,” Philander said. “Now, with the limitation we are getting compared to England, India and Australia, matters are absurd.

“We have played two [Test matches] against the West Indies, two against Sri Lanka, two against Pakistan and now let’s say it’s two against Bangladesh.

“That is eight Test matches in a 10-month cycle, which is not sufficient for the game. It is not sufficient for our players.

“You talk about a KG [Kagiso] Rabada — he has played 65 Test matches, but if he played for England he would probably have played over 110 matches.

“We saw how quickly Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad got to 100 matches.”