Australia batters will have 'less confidence' in Melbourne: Dean Elgar
Dec 18, 2022
Brisbane [Australia], December 18 : Despite losing the first Test against Australia within two days, South Africa captain Dean Elgar said that he is confident that Proteas will manage to fire a warning shot against the hosts with their strong pace attack.
Australia have maintained their unbeaten Test status at home this summer and closed in on booking a spot at next year's World Test Championship final with a decisive six-wicket victory over a disappointing South Africa in the first Test in Brisbane on Sunday.
South Africa's four pacers took 14 wickets of Australia in the match, including four in the successful second-inning chase of 34. Still, the South Africa captain believes they've shown the host's line-up what they are made of.
"It was to try and open some old scars, to bring in our intensity and maybe get them three or four down so those batters go to Melbourne with maybe less confidence. It worked out nicely. The result aside, it was one of the game plans that worked out for us over the last two days. I can't say there were many," ESPNcricinfo quoted Elgar as saying.
Kagiso Rabada finished the first Test with eight wickets and is now the leading bowler in Test cricket in 2022, with 45 wickets at 20.04, two ahead of Nathan Lyon.
"It gives us confidence. He is a massive figure for us, not just in our bowling group but in our 16-man squad. When he puts his hand up like that it's difficult not to follow," Elgar said.
"It's not just him. It's all of them. We are always trying to find another way to have an edge over your opposition. If this was a way of getting into their minds further, brilliant. I know a guy like KG is the most feared bowler we have here, purely because of his reputation and record. If he has got that confidence running into the next Test, it's brilliant for us," he further added.
Elgar noted how the rest of the attack respond when Rabada is at his best. "What you find is that really got [Anrich] Nortje fired up as well and he was starting to crank it up even more," he said. "Hopefully that can inspire our batting unit to get their heads right and to knuckle down and get some performance under their belt for us."
