Not surprised he performed well: Elgar on Erwee after win in 2nd Test

South Africa skipper Dean Elgar praised his opening partner Sarel Erwee and called him an ‘experienced cricketer’, who understands the concept of hard work.

Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen were the standout performers with the ball in the final innings as South Africa defeated New Zealand by 198 runs in the second Test here at the Hagley Oval on Tuesday.

“I think his story is a lot deeper than just playing cricket. He is a little bit older, and he understands the concept of hard work. I think he came close not too long ago to giving up the game, which would have been a massive loss. So I think he understands the concept of working for what you believe and where you feel you can be one day,” said skipper Dean Elgar as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

“He’s great. He is a good team man. He is always looking to influence. It’s never about him, it’s always about what he can do for the side. So, for me, it’s not surprising that he has come in and done well. He is an inexperienced Test cricketer, but he isn’t an inexperienced cricketer with regards to the bigger scheme of things,” he added.

Regarding the win against New Zealand, the Proteas skipper said that the wicket played quite nicely in his side’s favour during the second Test. “Visually, the wicket did look a lot different to the first Test, so it wasn’t as green, there was a lot less green grass, maybe a lot more browner grass on the wicket. So it did look a bit like a bat-first wicket. I think, because of what happened in the first Test, the easy, soft decision would have always been to bowl first after winning the toss. My nature, my character as a leader, is not to take the easy way out,” said Elgar.

“The wicket played quite nicely in our favour. It was maybe a little bit slower. The bowlers still posed quite a tough challenge for us upfront. But we managed to negate it and put on a good opening-wicket partnership [of 111 runs, between Elgar and Sarel Erwee]. But yeah, basically the decision was purely about us playing a positive brand of cricket and playing off the front foot. And for me, taking the easy way out is… doesn’t sit well for me,” he added.