Absolute privilege to watch you become one of the best: ABD praises retiring Philander

South Africa pacer Vernon Philander played his last Test in Johannesburg against England on Monday. Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers on Tuesday termed his fellow countryman Philander as one of the best bowlers in the world. Philander had earlier announced that he will hang his boots after the conclusion of Test series against England. Taking to Twitter, de Villiers wrote, "We’ve come a long way together and it’s been an absolute privilege to watch you become one of the best bowlers in the world!"

De Villiers, who recently played in the Big Bash League (BBL) for Brisbane Heats added, "Your skill as a Cricketer is incredible and I’ll always treasure our moments together as teammates, but more importantly, as friends. Great career Vernon Philander." 

'It's a lot of effort and time'

"I'd like to thank Vern for his services to the Proteas over the years, this team will miss him so, so much. We will sit with him tonight in the dressing room and share in the memories. It's a lot of effort and time, the sacrifices you make, over ten years," skipper Faf du Plessis said.

Philander, 34, played 101 matches across all three formats, picking up a total of 269 wickets since making his debut with a T20I game against Ireland on June 24, 2007. In his farewell Test, he could not help Proteas win as the hosts lost to England by 191 runs, but the ace medium-fast bowler was applauded by his teammates, wife Mandy Hudson and Proteas support-staff after he walked back to the pavilion for the last time.

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Not a Test to remember for Philander

It was not a Test to remember otherwise for Philander as he was fined 15 per cent of his match fee and handed him one demerit point. Philander received the penalty for his celebration after dismissing England's Jos Buttler on the second day of the fourth Test at the Wanderers. In his last match, Philander took two wickets in the first innings and remained wicketless in the second in which he bowled just 1.3 overs. Philander scored 4 and 10 in both innings.

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