Dane Paterson to replace injured Philander for Boxing Day Test

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Uncapped South African seamer, Dane Paterson, has been named as a replacement for their frontline quick, Vernon Philander, who suffered a hairline fracture on his right thumb, ahead of the upcoming first of the three-match Test series against Pakistan, starting on Wednesday (December 26).

Cricket South Africa selection convener Linda Zondi confirmed the news and put his weight behind the 29-year old, who has impressive first-class figures with 321 wickets in the bag at 23.56. “We have been looking at him for some time,” he said. “He is a bowler who has performed on the domestic scene consistently for a long time and he will be our back-up for the first Test.”

However with Duanne Olivier already added to the squad as cover for Lungi Ngidi, who is set to remain out of action till February owing to a knee surgery, Paterson might have to wait longer to add to his three ODIs and eight T20I caps as South Africa seem likely to go in with a three-pronged attack comprising of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Olivier.

Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma , Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn