Kent County Cricket Club confirm signing of Vernon Philander

Kent County Cricket Club is pleased to confirm the signing of South African cricketer Vernon Philander for the Friends Life t20.

Philander will be available for all forms of cricket, joining the squad until the back end of July when he has commitments with the Caribbean Premier League.

This is an excellent signing for Kent Cricket; Philander is currently the number two Test bowler in the World Rankings and he has an impressive record in international cricket.

Vernon Philander commented; “I’m really happy to be here, I hope to help the team to create some great chances and hopefully success. I hope I can use my experience to help the team and also that I can be a good influence in the dressing room.”

Kent Cricket Chairman of Cricket, Graham Johnson commented on the announcement; “Vernon is an excellent signing for the Club. His Test Match record is remarkable, and we hope he will make a strong contribution to the Kent Spitfires’ Friends Life t20 campaign, as well as kick start an improvement in four day results. “

Philander has an outstanding record in Test Match Bowling; 89 wickets at 17.13 and an impressive strike rate of 26.8 (the best average and strike rate since the First World War). He has taken 5 wickets 9 times (or once every 1.78 Tests) and 10 wickets once. He has played 67 Twenty20 matches and has taken 46 wickets at 31.00, and has a bowling strike rate of 23.1.

The first home game in the T20 campaign is on Friday at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence against Middlesex and then against old rivals Surrey on Sunday afternoon. Tickets are still available for both fixtures and can be purchased from www.kentcricket.co.uk