Proteas captain Dean Elgar (centre) celebrates Wiaan Mulder's catch to hand spinner Keshav Maharaj his hat trick in the second Test against the West Indies earlier this week. Picture: Randy Brooks / AFP
New Proteas Test captain Dean Elgar certainly seems to have made the sale in terms of getting buy-in from the team for his new approach and he said on Wednesday that the 2-0 series win in the West Indies was a result of the environment in the squad.
The opening batsman’s first outing as the full-time captain ended with South Africa hammering the West Indies, who were one place above them on the ICC rankings, by an innings-and-63-runs and then by 158 runs in the two Tests at St Lucia.
It was the Proteas’ first Test series win away from home since beating newly-crowned world champions New Zealand in March 2017.
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“It’s been a long time since we’ve won away from home, so it was a much-needed result and this performance speaks volumes for the environment around the team and the brand of cricket we played,” Elgar said.
“It’s not about me, the players are my biggest asset as captain and I’m here to motivate the squad and the environment. It’s a massive honour to captain this team.
“You can either take the captaincy to your head or to your heart, and I like to think I’ve taken it to my heart. I’ve always been a leader, through school and franchise cricket, and I think I lead from the front.
“I may be small in stature, but I’m a big guy in terms of standing up. I don’t shy away from that.”
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While the fast bowlers were front and centre in setting up the victory, Elgar also had plenty of praise for spinner Keshav Maharaj and the batsmen.
“Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi are a fearsome threesome, they put the fear of God in the batsmen, and they are a machine attack,” Elgar said.
“Each of them is unique, but they complement each other so well, they know their games and they understand different game-plans.
“But Keshav is a massive player for the Proteas, the way he has changed his game and is always willing to learn. He’s huge for the environment and deserves more respect. To take a five-for on a pitch that wasn’t turning is brilliant.
“The batsmen have struggled of late but in really tough, challenging conditions, it was great to see everyone come in and make a contribution.”
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