Proteas captain Dean Elgar believes his side has enough firepower to put up a strong challenge against England in the second Test starting at Old Trafford, Manchester, today.
Coming off the back of a convincing innings and 12 runs win inside three days at Lord's‚ the Proteas will be looking for more of the same from their players as they look to secure a first series victory in England since 2012.
Though the English were put to the sword by the Kagiso Rabada-led SA pace attack in London‚ Elgar remains wary of the threat England possess in their conditions and said his side will not be resting on their laurels.
“What happened in that first Test was something amazing for us‚” Elgar said.
“We have played sound‚ solid cricket‚ as we have done in the past year. I think the hunger was up there and I think it is still here. I don't think it is going anywhere‚ we drive a hard message with regards to that.
“It will be a lot tougher knowing that England were hurt and they will be coming back with a vengeance.”
The middle order remains a thorny issue in finding the best batsmen for the positions. Elgar feels SA have enough personnel to be able to decide on who is best suited to fill those roles.
“We have extra resources‚ no doubt‚ but as long as we are getting the results the backing is extremely important for those guys.
“We have given them a decent run of late‚ but I’m sure they know they are under pressure to perform‚ they are proper batsmen. They are here for a reason and hopefully they get everything going the right way for this Test match to put us in a stronger position.
“If they are firing in the middle order and we conduct ourselves the way we have been doing of late‚ our Test side can only grow from there.”
SA’s success in the longer format in recent years is backed by having won four of the past six Test series in which they played‚ with victories coming against Sri Lanka‚ West Indies‚ India and Bangladesh most recently.
They now sit at the summit of the World Test Championship standings for the 2021-2023 cycle.
Elgar wary of England backlash at Old Trafford
We have played sound, solid cricket
Image: Stu Forster
Proteas captain Dean Elgar believes his side has enough firepower to put up a strong challenge against England in the second Test starting at Old Trafford, Manchester, today.
Coming off the back of a convincing innings and 12 runs win inside three days at Lord's‚ the Proteas will be looking for more of the same from their players as they look to secure a first series victory in England since 2012.
Though the English were put to the sword by the Kagiso Rabada-led SA pace attack in London‚ Elgar remains wary of the threat England possess in their conditions and said his side will not be resting on their laurels.
“What happened in that first Test was something amazing for us‚” Elgar said.
“We have played sound‚ solid cricket‚ as we have done in the past year. I think the hunger was up there and I think it is still here. I don't think it is going anywhere‚ we drive a hard message with regards to that.
“It will be a lot tougher knowing that England were hurt and they will be coming back with a vengeance.”
The middle order remains a thorny issue in finding the best batsmen for the positions. Elgar feels SA have enough personnel to be able to decide on who is best suited to fill those roles.
“We have extra resources‚ no doubt‚ but as long as we are getting the results the backing is extremely important for those guys.
“We have given them a decent run of late‚ but I’m sure they know they are under pressure to perform‚ they are proper batsmen. They are here for a reason and hopefully they get everything going the right way for this Test match to put us in a stronger position.
“If they are firing in the middle order and we conduct ourselves the way we have been doing of late‚ our Test side can only grow from there.”
SA’s success in the longer format in recent years is backed by having won four of the past six Test series in which they played‚ with victories coming against Sri Lanka‚ West Indies‚ India and Bangladesh most recently.
They now sit at the summit of the World Test Championship standings for the 2021-2023 cycle.
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