Vernon Philander is used to drawing the short straw.At the beginning of his career, his skills as a long-format seam bowler somehow slipped behind his potential as a limited-overs allrounder and he debuted in the wrong format. When he flopped, he was sent back to franchise cricket to find form and fitness, and it took four years before he found his way back.Luckily, his new role fitted perfectly. Philander opened the bowling with such precision and penetration that he became the fastest South African to 100 Test wickets but still, he was not the countrys poster boy. The doubters believed he could only perform on pitches he was used to at home and the occasions on which Philander proved them wrong - Hamilton, Lords, Abu Dhabi - were conveniently forgotten. Last years tour to India would have been the biggest opportunity for Philander to show what he could do.He started strongly - with the most success by a South African seamer in the first Test in Mohali - but then disaster struck. In the warm-ups of the Bangalore Test, Philander tore ankle ligaments playing football and the injury looked bad enough to end his career.It took him three times longer to recover than first predicted - almost 18 weeks instead of six - he missed the rest of the international summer and with the rise of Kagiso Rabada, Philanders chances of finding his way seemed slim and he knew it. You always get a scare when this type of thing happens, especially with the time duration of it. I initially thought six weeks and I will be back on the park, he said. Then I realised the extent of the injury and the rehab that I had to undergo. When you are not playing and not being part of the set-up, you start doubting when you will be back in that space.For a change, it was not other people doubting Philander, but that did not make it any easier. He had to strengthen the ankle slowly and learn to trust it again. By his own admission, there was the mental challenge of being comfortable with landing on it, running on it and turning on it.Thats why Philanders comeback involved all the steps a sportsman entering the game for the first time takes. He played club cricket, provincial cricket, franchise cricket and A-team cricket. With each outing, he felt more assured. For me, it was to get over the mindset of wondering if the ankle is going to hold up. Thats why I went (with the A team) to Zimbabwe and Australia, he said. It held up pretty well so going into this Test match, I was pretty confident on it. I needed to play those couple of games to get that mental edge to be ready for this.And then, despite delivering six of possibly the most threatening overs of his career, in which he beat the bat several times with the kind of seam movement that he made his name on, Philander was overshadowed by Dale Steyn. Again.Steyn had been out of the Test side for almost as long as Philander, with a groin and then a shoulder problem, and his comeback was more eagerly anticipated. With Steyns reputation and the record for South Africas leading Test wicket-taker within his grasp, that was understandable. After Steyn shot out the New Zealand openers with signature swing, that was even more understandable, so it is hardly surprising that Philander gets why he has not made the headlines and his new-ball partner has. In fact, he welcomes it, because he believes they need each other to get South Africa climbing the rankings again.We formed a good partnership over the last few years. For me, its to get back to what I have been doing successfully, which is hitting the top of off with the odd bouncer, to create pressure from the other end with the consistency of bowling line and length, Philander said. When you slip down the rankings, you are going to try and find what was the key reason. South Africa have played with a lot of new faces and the lack of experience is what I would put it down too. Dale and I bring a bit of experience to the fold. Id like to see us lead the attack again.As for the doubters, who continue to wonder if Philander has passed his best, he hopes to answer them with his actions, as he has always done. We always need to prove ourselves wrong first of all, he said. As for proving other people wrong, it will always be there because theres always going to be critics, theres always going to be people questioning. You can only control what you can, and for me thats controlling 20 overs a day. Cheap Jordan Shoes Free Shipping . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Cheap Jordans From China . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.realjordanshoescheap.com/ . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Air Jordan Outlet . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Cheap Real Jordans Free Shipping . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- One of the nations most intriguing position battles has ended without a definitive winner, as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday that quarterbacks?DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire?will both play in the Fighting Irishs opener at Texas?on?Sept. 4.Kelly said both quarterbacks have been outstanding through camp and that more practices would not have created any separation between the two. The seventh-year Irish coach conceded that each player might be unhappy that the job is not his to keep, but he said the decision was made with the best interest of the team in mind.Kelly said?that both quarterbacks are among his best playmakers and that he would definitely consider playing both on the field at the same time.It was just counterintuitive for me to take one of them off the field at the expense of putting somebody else on the field for so many more plays, he said.?These two guys are too good.Im just watching them in practice every day and theyre making plays -- and then watching our other players around them and theyre clearly not as good as these two guys.Zaire, a redshirt junior, returned this spring after breaking his right ankle in Week 2 at Virginia last season. After Zaires injury, Kizer went 8-3 as a starter.Zaire is 3-0 as a starter, including a 19-for-22, 313-yard performance in last years opener, which was also against Texas.Its not the most ideal situation, but as a pro, you gotta deal with the cards you were dealt and make soomething happen.dddddddddddd My whole goal is to turn chicken crap into chicken salad, Zaire said, laughing.The whole point is we want to win as a team and we want to do this together, and its going to take more than just me, so we need the other 10 guys on the field to make that happen.Kizer, a redshirt sophomore, completed 63 percent of his passes last season for 2,884 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 520 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.Coach Kelly has put forth his word that its best to have us both on the field, Kizer said. And however that works is up to him. And hes been doing it for 26 years now, so Im just going to trust his instincts, and whenever he feels the right guy needs to be out there, Im sure hell make that decision.Asked if it was his goal to make this a one-quarterback system, Kizer replied: Absolutely. Theres supposed to be one quarterback on the field at one time, and I committed here, and I decided to play college football so I can be that one guy.When you decide to play this position, especially at this level, Kizer continued, you have to have the desire to be the only guy out there and to truly take credit for all the good and all the bad that happens within the team; thats a part of being the complete quarterback, and in order to do so, I would love for it to be just me. ' ' '