School backs old boy Elgar before big day
AT St Dominic’s College in the small town of Welkom in the Free State‚ they remember the young Dean Elgar as an unassuming boy who loved his cricket.
As he went about his academic and sporting life at the school‚ little did they know that he would one day go on to become the 12th man to captain the Proteas since readmission.
That unassuming boy will do it at Lord’s Cricket Ground of all places today.
Captain Faf du Plessis has been granted paternity leave following the birth of his first child‚ which has ruled him out of the first test at the home of cricket‚ and the 30-year-old Elgar has been handed the leadership responsibility.
Pierre Klopper‚ who is a cricket and hockey coach at St Dominic’s College and has known Elgar since he was eight years old‚ said yesterday they were proud of what he had achieved.
“He went through the doors here at the school and we have closely followed his career with pride as he rose through the ranks until he made his debut for the Proteas in 2012‚” Klopper‚ whose father Louis coached Elgar as a youngster, said.
“Playing for your national team is one thing, but being made captain must be special and we are truly happy for him because he deserves the opportunity.”
Klopper said Elgar had shown leadership qualities from an early age and had captained most of the teams he played in‚ from junior until club cricket level at the Central University of Technology.
“I am not surprised at all that they have given him the opportunity to lead because he has those qualities in him.
“He is also a good player because I remember very well he scored something like 32 hundreds as a junior, which is extraordinary.
“He has shown his qualities as a player for the franchises that he played for and the national team.”
St Dominic’s College headmaster Shane Gaffney said: “He has put our town and the school on the map and I am sure that there will be a lot of people from this area who will be following the match from [today] to witness this special moment for one of our very own.”
Titans chief executive Jacques Faul‚ who recruited Elgar from the Knights in Bloemfontein in 2014‚ said they had earmarked him for a leadership role at the franchise.
“When we brought him [to Pretoria]‚ we earmarked him for a leadership role within the set-up but things changed when he became a regular Proteas player, which meant he was not going to be with us for most of the time,” Faul said.
“He is a gutsy player‚ leads by example‚ he is assertive and he has a big personality.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he can develop into a quality leader like Graeme Smith.
“We are happy and wish him all the best in the test match.”