Vernon Philander to retire from Test cricket after England series

Within less than a year of the international retirements of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, South African cricket is set to bid farewell to another seasoned pacer - Vernon Philander. Ahead of the four-match home Test series, starting on December 26 at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion, Philander that revealed that the home series would be his last. 

"I would like to hereby announce that I will be retiring from international cricket at the conclusion of the Test series against England. I feel that it is the appropriate time to conclude what has been an amazing journey,” Philander was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

The departing cricketer, in an emotional goodbye announcement, thanked the teams he was associated with during his cricketing career and also to the fans, teammates and management.

“Thank you must also go to CSA, the Cape Cobras, all the coaches, management, captains and team mates and the very special fans from all over the world for your love and support,” he added.

"I would like to say a special thanks to my wife, family and friends for your loyalty and support on this journey which has obviously had its ups and downs. And to my number one fan since day one - Mom, thank you so much. I would like to express my gratitude to all the sponsors of the game of cricket in South Africa as well as my own amazing sponsors who have become like family over the years.”

Meanwhile, he established that his focus would still be on winning the upcoming series for South Africa. The last time that England had toured the country, the visitors had won 2-1. 

“My entire focus and energy at this time is to help the Proteas beat England which I am really looking forward to. Looking forward to seeing you all there," Philander stated.

In his 60 Test matches experience, Philander bagged 216 wickets with the best innings figures of 6/21. The 34-year-old also represented South Africa in 30 ODIs and 7 T20 Internationals.