South Africa's Vernon Philander ruled out of West Indies clash

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Sydney, Feb 24: South Africa seamer Vernon Philander has been ruled out of Friday's key World Cup clash against the West Indies here after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.

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Philander hobbled off the field after sending down just four overs in Sunday's 130-run loss to India in Melbourne. When he batted, he was dismissed for nought.

"Vernon sustained a Grade 1 hamstring strain which was confirmed by the scans done in Sydney on Monday afternoon," Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said Tuesday.

"The recovery period for a hamstring strain normally takes a week to 10 days which makes him unavailable for the match against the West Indies in Sydney on Friday."

Moosajee added it was too early to tell if Philander, 29, will be available for the match against Ireland in Canberra on March 3, and that the all-rounder will be given the best opportunity to recover to full fitness.

"The Ireland match, as we speak, is eight days away," he said. "With the recovery period being a week to 10 days, we have to give him every opportunity to make sure that he can be available.

"At the same time we don't want to be foolish by taking short-cuts, we will go through the usual treatment protocols and the return-to-play protocols.

"If he passes all the fitness tests and is symptom free going into the Ireland game he may play but at this stage it is too early to tell." Philander, who took two for 30 in South Africa's opening 62-run win over Zimbabwe, has taken 37 wickets in 26 ODIs.

AFP