South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar said that his team’s upcoming test tour of New Zealand will be a great test for the Proteas side to compare themselves with a team that's playing at their peak – the Kiwis.
South Africa and New Zealand are all set to compete in a two-match Test series, starting on February 17 in Christchurch, and Elgar is super excited about the mouth-watering contest against the Kiwis.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Elgar stated: “We know they are going to come out all guns blazing and so are we. The rivalry is pretty deep. They play cricket pretty similarly to us. They are extremely proud, extremely passionate and their bowlers are quality. We are aware of their ability. We respect that.”
He continued, “And it's going to be a great test for us to match ourselves and compare ourselves with a team that's playing at their peak. With respect, New Zealand's attack are a little bit down on pace compared to the Indian attack. In saying that, they execute their skills perfectly in their conditions.”
Meanwhile, South Africa has included six seam bowlers in their squad and they are Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Duanne Olivier, Lutho Sipamla, and Glenton Stuurman.
Speaking about the bowling attack, the Proteas skipper said: “We've got Sarel Erwee - he has been with us for quite a few hours now - and he is the favorite. We also have Zubayr Hamza, who has come with a lot of South Africa A runs under his belt. It's those two options for us at the moment. Sarel has been with us for the longest period of time. He is a great team guy and from a respectful point of view, and pecking order, a guy like Sarel is ahead of Zubayr. That's my opinion.”
Elgar further said about the quarantine rules in New Zealand, “We are allowed to leave the hotel to go and train as a group but once we return to the MIQ, we are straight back into our rooms.”
He signed off by saying, “There's still no mingling between the players. We do have the luxury to go and use the gym. We've got allocated times and we've got a training schedule we are allowed to fulfill as a group. It's very strict.”
(With ANI Inputs)
