Graeme Smith admires Dean Elgar for his consistency against England

Former South African skipper Graeme Smith, who is a part of the ongoing English series behind the mics, has heaped praises of Dean Elgar’s consistency in the first three matches of the series at the top of the order. He later took a jibe at Heino Kuhn’s place in the side as his contribution up the order has been minimal. England currently lead the 5-match Test series by 2-1.

After a forgettable captaincy debut at Lord’s, he came back brilliantly with the bat in the second innings of the Second Test Match with an 80 off 135 balls. He followed it up with a sensational ton in the Third Test match, where he displayed the art of survival with his knock of 136. He also added 54 runs to the total in the Second Innings of the Lord’s Test match.

Elgar is a battler and fighter, says Smith

A theme of the series has been the side batting second crumbling under scoreboard pressure, a trend South Africa failed to break here. However, amid the obvious failings was yet another gem from South Africa’s most consistent performer, Dean Elgar. He’s a battler and a fighter, and despite admitting to feeling out of sorts technically he’s looked increasingly assured at the crease,” wrote Graeme Smith in his column for The Independent.

“Saving the game always looked a step too far, but he can be proud of how he stood up for his country. Good Test batsmen find a way to score runs, even when the fluidity and fluency has seemingly been drained from them. What we saw from Dean in his superb rear guard in the fourth innings was what can happen when you fight through those periods.” continued Smith. He then concluded by expressing his reservations for Heino Kuhn at the other end. Smith stated that finding a solid and reliable opener needs to be a “priority” for the Proteas.