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Vernon Philander delivered 14.2 overs in England’s first innings, bowled eight maidens, conceded 16 runs and took four wickets. 

With the new Kookaburra in his hand he opened with five consecutive maidens. By relentlessly hitting a good length just outside off stump, he forced England’s top order to weigh up the option of leaving or prodding. Can you stomach the humiliation of being castled after shouldering arms? Fine, tentatively hang your bat out and watch the ball nestle in a catcher’s mitts behind the stumps. Rory Burns opted for the latter option.

Joe Root was the first Englishman to hit a run off Philander after 34 balls bowled. The visiting skipper had decided the best way to counter the movement off the seam was to walk out of his crease and meet the challenge head on.

But it was Philander who was the star of this show. Every contribution he made with either bat or ball had an impact on the result.

10 matches, 51 wickets average 17.6, strike-rate 37.2, 4 five-wicket hauls, best innings bowling 6-42, best match bowling, 9-75

Those are Philander’s numbers at Newlands in Cape Town, the venue for the second Test of the series. They’ll one day name a stand after him here in the shadows of Table Mountain where no one else has mastered the conditions with the same ruthless efficiency.

Not that Big Vern will worry himself with all that. For now, he’ll just let the ball, and the stats, do the talking.