If Temba Bavuma is ruled out of the Cape Town Test, Elgar might be asked to lead South Africa. And that may be the toughest goodbye of all
Firdose Moonda27-Dec-2023Goodbyes are difficult, especially when they come earlier than they should. Dean Elgar’s innings of 140* on the second day of the Centurion Test against India has given us reason to wonder if he falls into that category.His 14th Test century will rank among his best. It came under pressure, in challenging conditions, and against one of the most dangerous new-ball pairs in the game. It amounts to more than half of South Africa’s total so far, underlined the value of an experience – especially in an opening batter – and revealed a desire that has not dimmed.It also showed some aspects of Elgar that have not been seen before: the classy cover driver, the relatively quick scorer, and the ultra-emotionally charged celebrator. And it came from a place of freedom, the kind that a player who is done but not quite done yet has.Related
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“I don’t think I have a point to prove. I just want to still contribute,” Elgar said at the post-match press conference. “I want to go out with a bang, and try and win a Test match and the series. I don’t have anything to lose. Whether I fail or not, it is still coming to an end.”But there was a lot to lose when Elgar and Aiden Markram walked out to bat an hour into the day’s play – with a heavy cloud overhead, a surface with a good deal of bounce in it, and two of the best seamers in the world to face. It’s no surprise that the opening exchanges were tense, that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj looked threatening with every ball, beat the bat at least once an over and got an early wicket. Markram eventually had to play at a Siraj ball that took the outside edge.With captain Temba Bavuma unavailable through injury, Markram’s dismissal left Elgar with the least experienced top six line-up for South Africa since 1997 against Pakistan; and things could have gone badly wrong.That it didn’t and Elgar shared in a steadying 93-run with Tony de Zorzi, and a controlling 131-run partnership with the debutant David Bedingham is symbolic of Elgar potentially leaving at the right time: there are others, and they are capable. His time in the middle with de Zorzi was particularly significant because de Zorzi is likely to bat in Elgar’s opening spot in New Zealand, where South Africa will have a makeshift side, and he could end up in the role more permanently in the near future. De Zorzi also has Elgar’s blessing.Dean Elgar had a controlling 131-run partnership with debutant David Bedingham•AFP/Getty Images”That partnership with myself and Tony was pretty important. The ball was going around, Bumrah was swinging it both ways and Tony did bloody well to get through it,” Elgar said. “That period of seeing off that new ball – and getting it old – allowed David to come in and play his natural game – maybe something that won’t be spoken about, but I will speak about it.”Never one to not say what he thinks, Elgar also let his batting do the talking, and in an unexpected way, which he confirmed came from a “mindset of looking to score,” given the difficulty of the conditions. He has never appeared to drive with this much authority in a Test innings before, especially not through the covers. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, Elgar played 24 drives in this innings against the Indian pace bowlers, and was in control for 87.5% of them, at a strike rate of 179.2.Before today, Elgar had played 20 or more drives off fast bowlers in a Test innings only ten times, and in none of those had he scored at a faster clip with better control. He scored 58 runs off the Indian quicks through the off side – the most he has scored in a Test innings – and though they put the ball there for him, he still had to time and place his shots.”When you look to score, you get into a better position as well,” Elgar said. “After lunch, I came out with more of a positive mindset, got into really good positions, and capitalised.””I didn’t have a Test hundred at Centurion – that’s the one that got away throughout my career” – Dean Elgar•AFP/Getty ImagesAt some point, he would also have realised that a piece of history was waiting because he had yet to score a hundred at SuperSport Park. “We spoke about it the other day, and guys were like ‘I thought you’d got a few [hundreds] here’, and I said ‘No, I’ve been rubbish here’. Maybe not too rubbish,” he said.Before this Test, Elgar had played nine others at SuperSport Park, his adopted home ground after his professional career had begun in Bloemfontein, and with four fifties. The closest he came to a hundred was with a 95 against Sri Lanka two years ago. That was a fixture played under the strictest Covid-19 regulations, with not a spectator in sight. But on Tuesday, there were several thousand, and they all urged him on. As he entered the mid-80s, they upped their encouragement.Elgar got to 87 with a whip through mid-on off R Ashwin, to 91 with an outside edge off Prasidh Krishna – and kept the strike at the end of that over – and then to 96 with an on-drive. By the time the pull-off Shardul Thakur that took him to three figures landed on the other side of the boundary, the enormity of this achievement hit him, and he celebrated in wild, David Warner-esque fashion.Elgar got air time on the leap and saluted the crowd several times, and confirmed it was as much a recognition of the people as of the place. “It’s a special game for me. I didn’t have a Test hundred at Centurion – that’s the one that got away throughout my career,” he said. “My family was here, my friends were here watching, all knowing this is the last international fixture I will play here. I’m happy to be on the SuperSport Park [honours] board. I am now on the board at all the Test venues in South Africa, which is pretty cool.”
“By the time Cape Town [the second Test] is finished, maybe it will sink in for me. I want to do things like I have done today, and carry the mantle forward so the young guys know what it’s all about”Dean Elgar is desperate to help South Africa beat India in this series
That sounds like as good a position as there can be to decide to sign off. Everyone finds it easier to laud a player who leaves on a high, and voluntarily, instead of one who hangs on until he is forced out. And there are also other reasons for Elgar’s decision. At 36 years old, with a dearth of Test fixtures in the near future and a coach who has made it clear he is looking for opportunities to blood new players, it seems the time is right. But there may yet be one big statement for Elgar to make in a series he seems desperate to help South Africa win.”At the moment, it’s about contributing, putting the team in a good position, and influencing where I can,” he said. “By the time Cape Town [the second Test] is finished, maybe it will sink in for me. I think I will be on a wine farm somewhere, drinking copious amounts of wine, and I will maybe sit back and enjoy what’s happened in the past. For now, it’s all about business. I want to do things like I have done today, and carry the mantle forward so the young guys know what it’s all about.”The business could also be bigger than he expected it to be. There’s still no word on Bavuma’s availability to bat in this match, though he did not come out when he could have at No. 7, and given the quick turnaround, whether he will be fit to play in the New Year’s Test. If he is ruled out, there’s a good chance Elgar will be asked to lead South Africa one last time in a bid to deny India a chance to conquer what they have called the final frontier. And that may be the toughest goodbye of all.
