South African all-rounder Vernon Philander on Monday batted for his final Test match calling time on a career that lasted close to a decade.
The 34-year-old had announced before the start of the series that it would be his last in Test cricket.
Philander played 64 Test matches and took 224 wickets having made his Test debut against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town in November 2011. He was named Man of the match then for picking up 5 for 15 in the second innings.
However, it was not to be a fairy tale farewell for Philander in the end as an early dismissal saw the Proteas collapse with figures of 4 for 14 as England won the match by 191 runs and completed a 3-1 series victory.
South Africa was on figures of 244/6 when he entered, and he departed at 260/7 having been caught by England’s Jos Buttler after being bowled by man-of-the-match Mark Wood.
As Philander walked out of the pitch at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for his achievements.
Also, on Sunday, Philander was fined 15 percent of his match fee for his send-off to Jos Buttler on the second day of the fourth Test and handed one ICC demerit point.
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis paid tribute to Philander, who was presented with a token after the match.
“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,” du Plessis said.
