The Story:
Test captain Faf du Plessis’ family commitments have forced him to miss the opening Test against England starting at Lord’s on Thursday (July 6th). The 35-year-old, who is all set to welcome a baby girl, will be unable to return in time to England for the first Test of the four-Test series.Established opener Dean Elgar will be replacing him and lead the side in Du Plessis’ absence. He is also set to become the 12th Test captain since readmission to captain the South African Test team.
Established opener Dean Elgar will be replacing him and lead the side in Du Plessis’ absence. He is also set to become the 12th Test captain since readmission to captain the South African Test team.
Read More: (Faf du Plessis to miss Lord’s Test match, Dean Elgar named deputy captain)
Head Coach Backs Stand-in Skipper
Head coach Russell Domingo feels that Dean Elgar’s gutsy personality will help him take control of things pretty easily. The 30-year-old has established himself as a first-choice opener in the squad and the coach is waiting with excitement to watch him operate in the middle.
“Dean is an aggressive type of personality and he will play an aggressive brand of cricket,” the coach said. “He is a gutsy player and epitomises South African cricket to a tee. I’m excited about working with him for the next couple of days as captain.
“He is going to try and take over and run with a lot of what Faf has instilled in the side, but be his own man, and try to make decisions that he feels will be in the best interests of the team on the day. I’m excited to see what he brings. It’s a big plus for us that we can have another prospective captain in the group and another player taking his game forward to the next level of leadership.”
Elgar has been a vital part of the side which is now placed second in the ranking of being at seventh 15 months ago. The left-hander has 35 Tests under his belt since making his debut in 2012 has registered seven hundred and six half-centuries in this period.
“He is an experienced player in the Test side and has had good success as a Test opener, that is a tough job in this game,” Domingo said.
Multiple Agenda In The Mind
South Africa will look to repeat the success they had during the 2012 tour of the UK. The absence of two biggies – Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers – will be felt, however. The prospect of regaining the No.1 Test ranking also will be lingering in the minds of South Africa. Domingo expects his team to perform with the same intensity with which they did against New Zealand and Australia in recent series.
“We want to win, that is the bottom line,” he stressed. “We set ourselves certain goals a year ago that we want to achieve in Test match cricket and we are determined to tick those boxes. To do that you have to play good cricket; you have to follow the processes, you have to absorb pressure and you have to counterattack in certain stages. We are very process-driven but we have the end-goal of winning the series and to improve our standing in Test cricket. We want to develop our brand in Test cricket and still try to find out what the best combination is.”
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