- Proteas Test captain Dean Elgar admitted that his performance in the second Test against Australia was weak.
- The Proteas were bowled out for 204 as they conceded an innings and 182-run loss, along with their first series loss in Australia since 2006.
- Elgar said they were unable to put themselves in a position to put pressure on Australia’s bowlers.
Proteas Test captain Dean Elgar admitted his performance in the second Test concluded against Australia in Melbourne on Thursday was rather weak and said it was a hard pill to swallow.
The Proteas may have crossed 200 for the first time in eight innings, but they were still crushed by one innings and 182 runs to concede their first series loss in Australia since 2006.
Elgar, whose lack of form is also increasingly under the spotlight, said their inability to turn up for such an important game was made worse by the level and fair conditions they faced at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
SCOREKEEPER | Proteas v Australia, Test 2, Day 4
Elgar, who scored 26 and 0 as his lost runs in recent games continue to hamper the Proteas’ hitting, understandably said there were more negatives than positives to his dismal performance.
“It was always going to be a hard pill to swallow, but there aren’t many positives. There are few, but the negatives outweigh the positives,” Elgar said.
“I would say that’s a pretty weak performance, especially in conditions that were really good for Test cricket.
“We’re disappointed in how things turned out. I still wanted to see us have a fighting chance and give the Aussies a hard time by taking pride in our grounds.”
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“The way it played out was pretty disappointing.”
Once the Proteas were dismissed for 189 on the first day, they were in no position to force the Australian bowlers into long spells.
The case was the same in the second innings even though the hosts had injured bowlers in Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.
SA batted for 68.4 and 68.5 overs respectively in the two innings, which was far from what was needed to push the Australian bowlers into the third and fourth periods.
Australia’s only innings spanned 145 overs, with most of it taking place on an extremely hot second day where the mercury hovered around 35 degrees.
Elgar, without tacitly admitting that his batting has gotten out of hand, said they were in no position to push teams into long bowling seasons.
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“The thing about Test cricket is you want to push the bowlers into the third and fourth spells, but we’re not getting there,” Elgar said.
“That’s pretty disappointing because I feel like it could be a weakness in most batting line-ups when guys get tired of bowling for those longer periods.
“We’re not getting there, so it’s hard to gauge or judge what they might have if they’re not pushed into those longer spells.”
