Philander fit for Lord's Test

Vernon Philander has been passed fit for South Africa's opening Test against England at Lord's. Philander sat out the warm-up match in Worcester last week as he recovered from an ankle injury, sustained while on a county stint with Sussex, but has made a full recovery.

That means South Africa will have a full-strength attack including Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel, while back-up allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo will likely have to wait their turns.

South Africa are still waiting to confirm Faf du Plessis' availability for the match after he returned home of the birth of his first child. A difficult birth may keep the captain from joining the camp immediately. A decision is expected to be taken on Monday.

Should du Plessis miss the match, Dean Elgar will stand in as captain with one of Theunis de Bruyn or Aiden Markram coming in in du Plessis' place.