Philander is the hardest I have faced: Ricky Ponting

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has revealed that SOuth African pacer Vernon Philander is one of the best seam bowlers he has ever faced. While it does remain true that Philander is rather ineffective when it comes to playing on slower and drier wickets, it seems clear that he is more than a handful to face at venues in Australia and South Africa.

Philander exhibited some impressive bowling acumen on the day as he picked five wickets to blast the Aussies out for a paltry 85. Ricky Ponting, who faced Philander towards the close of his career, stated that he did not get any visual clues whilst facing the 31-year old South African pacer.

“He is probably the hardest I faced in world cricket with those type of conditions because you don’t get any visual clues with the swinging ball,” Ponting told BT Sport.

“Most other guys when there’s movement, the ball actually swings in the air first and you have some sort of idea of which way the ball is going to go.

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Ponting added that it was difficult to predict which direction the ball would swing. “He doesn’t swing the ball at all. It comes out of his hand dead straight and he doesn’t know which way it’s going to go off the pitch either.

“So you sort of end up trying to find and feel … for which way the ball is going to go.

Ponting also went on to add, “We saw a couple of replays today; the release was exactly the same on two balls in a row, they landed in almost exactly the same spot, one seamed away and the other one seamed in. He’s just a class act when the ball is seaming.”

Vernon Philander then went on to state that it was important to have confidence in one’s ability. “You have to have confidence in your ability to execute your skills,” Philander said after play on Saturday. “This wicket, together with the overhead conditions this morning, suited us to a tee.”

“Whenever there’s assistance around for the bowlers I think sometimes batters need to feel a bit more positive show a bit more intent.

“Sometimes that can lead to their downfall, where I think when there’s a bit (of movement) around you’ve got to be a bit more patient, leave a few more good balls.

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