One of the favourites to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) finale are South Africa, who are sitting pretty in second spot in the points table with 60 points and a win percentage of 71.42 per cent. The Proteas skipper Dean Elgar believes his team has improved beyond expectations after their comfortable 2-0 home series win over Bangladesh, even without a few of their first-team regulars.
“Not a lot of people would have given us that kind of stats at the start of the season, but it is great to have the numbers on our side. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that went into this,” Elgar told reporters after South Africa’s 332-run win over Bangladesh at St George’s Park on Monday.
South Africa beat India 2-1 during their tour of India and also played out a 1-1 draw in New Zealand to record five wins from seven matches over the season. It is also worth mentioning that both India and New Zealand were finalists in the WTC 2019-21 final.
"We are on the right path and doing things in the correct way. I’m extremely proud of the Test summer and the depth we have shown with regards to our selection pool, giving guys an opportunity so they can see what Test cricket is all about," the 34-year-old added.
Six of the Proteas players - batters Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen, and the pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen - opted to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) instead of the Bangladesh series. Sharing his thoughts, Elgar made it clear that it was not certain all would return.
“I can’t speak if those guys are going to be selected again, that is out of my hands. I can’t speak right now of combinations going forward. It is a great headache to have. You always want more options than none, and just by giving guys experience, you create a lot more depth going forward. Our Test side is in a very healthy position,” he said.
Elgar admitted to concerns over the batting department, which managed only two centuries all summer, both coming in the second Test against New Zealand, “We need to notch up a few more hundreds. We know how much pressure you put on the opposition if you do that. Our batting is probably the one negative area. We are aware of it and are working bloody hard.”
The Proteas travel to England for their next tour from July to September and will also visit Australia over the New Year.
