South Africa skipper Dean Elgar feels that his side’s pace battery will get better with time. He also talked about what XI his side will field in the second Test against England.
South Africa thrashed England by an innings and 12 runs in the series opener, closing the game inside three days to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It was a sensational effort from the Proteas with both bat and ball as they made the hosts look clueless.
The pacer quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen rattled England’s batting line-up in both innings and took a total of 82.4 overs to take 20 wickets.
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The two teams will again cross swords with each other in the second Test, which will take place in Manchester, beginning August 25. The Elgar-led side would be hoping to replicate the performance from the first Test and clinch the series.
Speaking during the pre-match press conference, Dean Elgar said that the side’s pacers are still fresh and they will get even better. He lauded the bowling department, saying that they are hungry for success.
"I reckon they can get much better, they’re still pretty fresh. The wicket assisted them at Lord’s, we must take that into account, but you have to put the ball in the right areas and they did that.
“Our bowlers are leading our pack at the moment and they’re extremely hungry for success. The competition among them is brilliant and the way they go about things is the most professional behaviour I’ve seen from fast bowlers,” Dean Elgar said.
Elgar hinted that South Africa are likely to play with the same team in the second match before admitting that ‘hurt’ England will come out all guns blazing.
"We have our 12, the same as the first test and we decide on the day. Everyone is down to play and on the day you will be told if you are or not, which creates that sense of not taking the foot off the gas. I hope the second test goes the same way but we know England are hurt and they will fight back with a vengeance,” he said.
Coming to the first Test, after winning the toss, South Africa bundled out the opposition for just 165 runs with Kagiso Rabada picking the five-wicket haul.
With the bat, South Africa then took a healthy lead of 161 runs and then yet again bowled sensationally to rattle out the Ben Stokes-led side for 149 runs to win the match by a massive margin.
(Reuters inputs)
