Jos Buttler apologises for Vernon Philander outburst during second Test in Cape Town

Buttler's comments during the final day were picked up by the onfield stump microphone and ended up landing the touring wicketkeeper with a demerit point and a 15-per-cent-of-match-fee fine from the ICC

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Jos Buttler has said sorry for calling South Africa allrounder Vernon Philander a "f*****g k******d" during England's second Test against the Proteas in Cape Town.

Buttler's comments during the final day were picked up by the onfield stump microphone and ended up landing the touring wicketkeeper with a demerit point and a 15-per-cent-of-match-fee fine from the ICC.

Ahead of the third game of the series, which is due to begin in Port Elizabeth on Thursday, Buttler apologised for the remarks.

“Obviously I’ll take the slap on the wrists and understand that as role models you can’t get away with using language like that, and to Vernon,” he said

“Hopefully I can move on now, and look forward to the next game.” 

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Jos Buttler has apologised for his remarks to Vernon Philander

The keeper has yet to see Philander since the exchange.

“I think if I see him I’ll just say I’m sorry,” Buttler said. “I think it was one of those moments. The ball hit me in the head and I lost my head for 20 seconds.”

The incident has once again brought into focus the subject of stump mics, with some current and former professionals calling for the equipment to be turned off for TV viewers.

“The stump mics have been a bit of a debate for a while now, whether they should be up all the time or on and off, or off completely. I think as players we’d probably like it to be off, and then what goes on the field can stay on the field,” Buttler said.

“But that shouldn’t mean things can get out of hand. Then for viewers at home it probably adds a lot for the viewership. It’s a tough one but players would probably like it to be off.”

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