"All Batters Have To...": Dean Elgar Ahead Of Test Series Against Australia

South Africa captain Dean Elgar has urged his batters to establish themselves, but he is also willing to shoulder the burden of scoring runs on his own shoulders. In order to continue their remarkable run in Australia, where they have won the last three series, South Africa will need to defy the callow statistics of their top order. The Gabba will host the first match, beginning on December 17, before the series heads to Melbourne for the annual Boxing Day Test.

The only experienced specialist batters in the nation are Elgar and Temba Bavuma. If South Africa's potent bowling attack is to have enough runs to work with, a great deal depends on them. However, Elgar's luck will probably be crucial to their hopes. He has scored 13 test century runs, compared to four by the rest of the touring team. The top batter in South Africa has a 38.83 average, but Australia has two batters who are over 60, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith.

"All the batters have to stand up. It's been a bit of a talking point that's been surrounding our batting unit of late. Again, I've never shied away from that. It's time for the guys to rise up, time for myself personally to put my hand up and make a massive play for us. We've got a really talented group, they are just a little inexperienced when it comes to Test cricket. They don't have a lot of baggage coming into the series. They just need to take the opportunities when they come their way," ESPNcricinfo quoted Elgar as saying.

The only experienced specialist batters in the nation are Elgar and Temba Bavuma. If South Africa's potent bowling attack is to have enough runs to work with, a great deal depends on them. However, Elgar's luck will probably be crucial to their hopes. He has scored 13 test century runs, compared to four by the rest of the touring team. The top batter in South Africa has a 38.83 average, but Australia has two batters who are over 60, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith.

Since then, Elgar has smashed two centuries against Australia, but there have been plenty of low scores as well, and his average of 33.55 is below his career level.

"We come from South Africa where the wickets are pretty green and juicy. From a personal point of I don't really shy away from that and I know our batters don't either," Elgar said.

"I always carry the weight of scoring runs, I'm the senior batter. With the external pressures of being the captain, I've got to score runs. Very much aware of that. It's always something I thrive on, think it brings the best out of me," the South Africa captain added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Steven Smith Pat Cummins Dean Elgar Cricket