Exclusive: Vernon Philander Backs South Africa to Exploit Australia’s Vulnerable Top Order

Former Proteas seam bowling ace Vernon Philander does not expect Australia to alter their aggressive approach with the bat in the World Test Championship final and believes this will present South Africa's attack with opportunities when the title decider gets underway at Lord's on June 11.

Australia's batting has seemed vulnerable in recent years, with non-specialist openers and a decline in the once-phenomenal output of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith.

Only two batsmen who appeared in at least four matches for Australia in the current World Test Championship cycle averaged more than 40: the 38-year-old Usman Khawaja (41.82) and Smith, who averaged 41.37 compared to a career figure of 56.74.

While Khawaja is certain to be the one opening batsman, who his partner will be is undecided in the wake of David Warner's retirement. Australia have used Sam Konstas (28.25) and Nathan McSweeney (14.40) without much success and even tried Travis Head there, but he is likely to return to the middle-order, where he has been most effective. Labuschagne is the latest candidate touted to be Khawaja's partner against the new ball.

"The Australian batsmen are generally aggressive and come hard at you. Which shows you the importance of the new ball, having control with that is important and you don't want to leak early boundaries. You don't want to allow them to get into their strides," Philander told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview.

"Australia have a bit of a defect against the moving ball. Technically and mentally, South Africa's batsmen perhaps have the upper hand with the general overhead conditions in England and the Duke ball being completely different to the Kookaburra."

"So the Proteas bowlers will certainly want to exploit that. Marnus Labuschagne has been short of runs, as has Steve Smith to an extent in the previous couple of seasons. So there's a window of opportunity there, their shortfalls will be in the back of the mind."

"Tactically, the ball nips around at Lord's and Australia's top-order could be vulnerable especially since our bowlers have the ability to get the ball a touch fuller. The likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood bowl more back-of-a-length, with the ball going over the top of the stumps; we want to bring the stumps into play more," Philander said.

Rabada in the clear

With Kagiso Rabada now in the clear after his recreational drugs suspension, he will lead a South African attack that Philander, who took 53 wickets in 14 Tests against Australia, at an average of 24.67, says covers all the bases. Philander also took 22 wickets in six Tests in England, at an average of just 23.54.

"As a collective, there are a lot of skill sets covered in that attack. KG hits the surface hard, Marco Jansen brings swing and seam and extra bounce. Dane Paterson has bowled at Lord's a lot playing for Middlesex this season and Lungi Ngidi has skill and control. And then there's Wiaan Mulder, who brings balance to the team."

"If batting conditions are really good then you need spin, and although records show the spinners don't do a great deal at Lord's, the control that Keshav Maharaj brings is vital. His record speaks for itself and, as a combination, South Africa's attack has all bases covered," Philander said.