“That was a bit of hammering” – Dean Elgar reveals reason behind South Africa’s series loss against Australia
Australia beat South Africa in the second Test at MCG by a massive margin of an innings and 186 runs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. It’s Australia’s first series victory against South Africa at home since 2005. After losing the second Test, South Africa captain Dean Elgar blamed his team’s inexperience for the loss.
“It is not easy at the moment. That was a bit of a hammering,” Elgar admitted post-match. “We have to come up to speed to the intensity Test cricket deserves.”
“The inexperience is hitting us hard. We have lost a lot of batters in the last few years. There are opportunities for the newcomers to come out, perform and stake a permanent claim in this batting group and make their spots their own, but inexperience is definitely hurting us at the moment,” he added.
Elgar is the most experienced member of the Proteas batting unit with 80 caps, followed by vice-captain Temba Bavuma’s 52. The remainder of the top six consisting of Sarel Erwee (8), Theunis de Bruyn (12), Khaya Zondo (3) and Kyle Verreynne (12) have a total of 35 caps.
The Proteas could only manage to score low totals of 189 and 204 in the two innings of the Test respectively. Their 200 in the second innings was the first time they have passed 200 in eight innings.
South Africa are missing their regular No 3 batter Keegan Petersen on this tour of Australia after he suffered a severe hamstring injury in the Cricket SA T20 Domestic Challenge back in November.
South Africa’s WTC dream in danger
Another star batter Ryan Rickleton, who has been in prolific form back in South Africa, was also not able to travel to Australia due to medical reasons relating to his injured ankle.
South Africa also had a major blow exactly 12 months ago when experienced Quinton de Kock unexpectedly announced his retirement from Test cricket after his 52nd Test against India at SuperSport Park.
The Test series loss has dented the chances of qualification to the World Test Championship final for South Africa. They’re currently placed at the fourth position having a points percentage of 50%. The Proteas need to win all of their remaining three fixtures to keep their hopes alive.
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