JOHANNESBURG: South African seamer Vernon Philander, who missed the last Test against New Zealand owing to a hamstring injury, has returned to the squad for the first cricket Test against Pakistan.

He replaced all-rounder Ryan McLaren in the side. Philander had bagged the Man of the Match award in first Test against New Zealand in Newlands before he was ruled out of the second Test match in Port Elizabeth with a hamstring injury.

“We are very happy with the job that Rory did against New Zealand when Vernon dropped out while Jacques provides us with a lot of experience as the cover batsman,” Cricket South Africa (CSA) selection convener Andrew Hudson said.

The first Test match against Pakistan will be played at Wanderers in Johannesburg from February 1.

South Africa squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Jacques Kallis, Rory Kleinveldt, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Jacques Rudolph, Dale Steyn.—Agencies