Elgar ‘sick and tired’ of having to prove his mettle in 50-overs
The tough Proteas opener has been pigeonholed as a Test player in international cricket despite an excellent overall record in the limited overs format.
Dean Elgar. Photo: Getty Images.
The Proteas started their preparations for the coming season with their fitness and medical assessment camp at the Wanderers this week, with the World Cup their prime goal at the end of it all in a year’s time.
This means limited-overs cricket will be their focus next summer, with one of their Test stars eager to ensure he remains in the conversation.
Dean Elgar is an integral part of the Test team that beat both India and Australia last season, but he is often not considered relevant when international white ball cricket is discussed and this is something he is keen to change.
“I have a lot of experience in limited-overs cricket even though a lot of people write me off when it comes to the white ball. I’m sick and tired of it and I don’t like to have to keep proving myself in limited-overs cricket. I just need clarity on where we are going.
“I’ve probably played more white-ball cricket in England than here, but it’s going to be important to have a chat with the coach (Ottis Gibson), important for the future so we know where we’re going and can prepare accordingly. We could have quite a chat but it will build an even stronger relationship with the coach,” Elgar said.
The left-handed batsman, who can also bowl useful orthodox spin, played the last of six ODIs in October 2015, but he has an average of 42 and a strike-rate of almost 80 in List A cricket, with a bowling economy rate of 5.42.
In T20 cricket, he has a high average of 35 and a strike-rate of 110, while his bowling economy is just 6.85.
Elgar was the No 1 run-scorer for Surrey in the five one-day cup matches he played for them.
But his immediate focus is on the tour of Sri Lanka next month, where South Africa play two Tests.
Elgar has been on a number of tours to the sub-continent now, but averages just 28 in Tests in Asia, so he knows how tough it is.
“It’s not an easy place to tour, but confidence in your own game can help a lot, so we will have to prepare very well, hopefully with a lot of warm-up games. In the sub-continent specifically, you need to be a lot more conscious and hard-working and you can never write off Sri Lanka in their own conditions.
“They’re a very dangerous side, we witnessed that last time we were there. They seem to also be in a rebuilding stage, so I’m sure their players will be out to make a point.”
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