Vernon Philander has arrived in Manchester determined to help South Africa recover from their off-colour performance at The Oval.
The tourists badly missed the full assistance of Philander, who would surely have been in his element in the third Test but for a mystery stomach bug which restricted him to 32 overs and left him bowling - by his own estimations - at only "70 or 80 per cent".
In tailor-made conditions under heavy cloud cover, which played into the hands of the seamers on both sides, Philander was left nursing a bout of frustration to go with his physical ailments.
While he was laid low, and even spent a night in hospital on a drip mid-match, South Africa went down by 239 runs and can only draw the series at best at Old Trafford.
Philander cut a much perkier figure on his arrival in the north of England.
"It was either something I picked up or something I ate that really 'drilled' me for a couple of days," Philander said.
"I think it probably got a lot worse having to bowl after losing quite a lot of fluids.
"The night in hospital, being on a drip, really revitalised me. But then in the morning, it was (not good) again."
This series has been notable for lurching unstoppably one way or another at each venue - with England twice winning easily, yet losing by 340 runs in between at Trent Bridge.
"We hope the trend keeps going," added Philander.
"It's a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment, the way it's been going and the margins of victory and defeat.
"The boys are ready for this one. We've had a few hard chats ... and we hope to step up."
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