ENG vs SA: It’s Going To Be A Lot Tougher Knowing That England Were Hurt; They’re Coming Back With A Vengeance – Dean Elgar Ahead Of 2nd Test

South Africa National Cricket Team red-ball captain Dean Elgar has said that he is expecting the Ben Stokes-led England National Cricket Team to come back with vengeance in the second Test match of the series after a huge loss in the first Test match.

In the first Test match of the series between England and South Africa at the Lord’s, London, the Proteas pacers demolished the England batting line-up and the match ended in 3 days. England were bowled out for 165 & 149 in their two innings and they lost the match by an innings and 12 runs. The second game is set to begin on Thursday, August 25 at Old Trafford in Manchester.

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Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the Manchester Test, Dean Elgar said that he knows the second Test won’t go the same way as the first game and it’s going to be a lot tougher for the Proteas.

“I know it won’t (go the same way),” Elgar told the media at pre-match press conference.

“It’s going to be a lot tougher knowing that England were hurt and I know they’re coming back with a vengeance I guess against us. I really just hope we can play another solid game of cricket. I think that will give us the best chance to try and get into a position of victory. But we know we have to start again where the scoreboard is on nought for nought and we’ll have to start off pretty well against them,” he said.

He said that the South African team played really solid and sound cricket in the first game and they are hungry to play in the same fashion in the coming games.

“What happened in the first Test was something amazing for us,” he explained.

“We played really solid, sound cricket as we’ve been doing the last year. I think our hunger was up there and I think our hunger’s still here. I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. We drive a hard message with regards to that. We really want to play a brand of cricket that everyone loves back home, and hopefully the rest of the world enjoys. It’s difficult to read the future, I wish I could, and I really hope the second Test goes the same way.”

I reckon pacers can get much better in Manchester– Dean Elgar

South Africa captain Dean Elgar feels that the dominant pace bowling unit of the team consisting of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, can get even better in Manchester. He added that the pacers are “extremely hungry for success”.

“I reckon they can get much better. They’re still pretty fresh, which is a nice thing to have from my part. They had a brilliant game, the wicket obviously assisted them as well at Lord’s and you’ve got to take that into account as well,” he said.

“But again you’ve got to put the ball in the right areas and they did that. And again it brings us back to the first question about hunger and I think our bowlers are leading our pack at the moment, they’re extremely hungry for success.

“The competition amongst them is brilliant and the way they go about things is some of the most professional behaviour I’ve seen from fast bowlers. It’s a great asset to have them leading the pack like that. You don’t have to speak to them too much. They just know what to do.

“They’ve been around the international scene now for quite some time. This may be a different wicket, so they’ll have to adapt, but this is a massive strength of ours.”

When asked about the playing XI for the second Test, Dean Elgar responded:

“Consistency is key to Test cricket and even consistency when it comes to selection. It’s a tough series playing away from home against England and you need to back your horses that you’ve been backing for some time now. All you can do is give them the best resources to try and do well. Hopefully it comes off,” he said.

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