Dean Elgar was appointed captain of South Africa’s Test team in early March 2021 and given a mandate for his reign.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Elgar
is expected to lead the Proteas for the duration of their next World Test
Championship campaign.
South
Africa were well off the pace set by the top four nations in the soon to be
concluded league phase of the inaugural championship and it is clear that
Director of Cricket Graeme Smith wants to see the team improve, if not win the
next championship.
While
the Proteas have traditionally struggled in ICC Tournaments, the WTC operates
within the realm of bilateral cricket, which is a traditional strength of South
African cricket.
There
are some things that Elgar cannot do as captain, chief among them being batting
for the rest of the top-order, he will however play a role in determining who
staffs those top six slots and exactly where they fit into the Proteas game.
Elgar
has been close to the succession of Test skippers who have tried to address
South Africa’s slide in the ultimate format, but unlike most of them he is
himself entirely focused on the red-ball game.
Being
awarded the captaincy of the Test team has likely put his hopes of breaking
into the limited-overs side to bed, meaning the skipper will be wholly devoted
to the most all-consuming of formats.
The
Proteas ‘Bulldog’ could be just the man to tackle the stubborn problems
standing in the way of Test match success for South Africa.
His
application at the crease will serve as inspiration to the batsmen around him
and his determined streak should encourage the Proteas to improve their killer
instinct.
Despite
their recent form it really wouldn’t take just an incremental improvement in
key areas to ensure that South Africa compete with the likes of India, England,
New Zealand and Australia, who currently dominate the five-day format.
Elgar
will also work closely with a man considered to be just about nailed on to
captain the Proteas down the road, in his opening partner Aiden Markram.
The
quicker he can learn how to wrangle the Proteas impressive pace battery, the
sooner the team will be able to compete on the global stage, especially when it
comes to home Tests.
Written by James Richardson.
