Vernon Philander, the South African fast bowler, has been awarded a national contract in recognition of his strong start to his Test career this summer. In four home Tests, Philander has taken 30 wickets, with four five-wicket hauls, including a match-best of 10 for 102 against Sri Lanka at Centurion.

His 5 for 15 on debut was mainly responsible for Australia being bundled out for 47 at Newlands.

"Vernon has been an outstanding asset for the Proteas' squad this summer and his successes have been well documented," said Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola.

"The awarding of a contract is well deserved and also gives the team management the tools to manage his workload correctly as the Proteas embark on a very busy international year that includes away tours to New Zealand, England and Australia as well as the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka."

At the end of a meeting of CSA's board of directors, it was decided that South Africa will play five Twenty20 internationals in Zimbabwe in June before their tour of England. The team would have played 11 Twenty20 internationals in the build-up to the ICC World Twenty20, including three each in New Zealand and England.

The board accepted a recommendation from Majola to have a workshop to review the structure of the domestic professional competitions.