Longevity in openers important, says Elgar
SENIOR Proteas opener Dean Elgar is hoping to create stability with new test partner Aiden Markram which will last for a number of seasons.
Elgar‚ who has recently opened with Stiaan van Zyl‚ Stephen Cook‚ Theunis de Bruyn and Heino Kuhn‚ feels having a consistent partner at the top will benefit the team against Bangladesh‚ India and Australia.
The Proteas’ long summer starts in earnest on Thursday in Potchefstroom against lowly rated Bangladesh in the first of two test matches.
“I have been asked this question of having a new partner all the time at every press conference and the thing is, maybe I was not outspoken about it in the past‚” Elgar said yesterday.
“Now‚ I think I have developed a voice with regard to the topic and I do think it’s unfair for a batting unit to be settled if the opening unit is unsettled.
“Your core with regard to the batting collective is your opening pair. Openers set up the rest for the guys to come through and play naturally.
“We need stability and consistency with regard to the combinations.
“I am extremely excited for Aiden because he has shown over the last season or two that he is a special player. He is still very young but he has shown that he is developing every time he holds his bat.”
Elgar said he was excited by the prospect of opening the batting with the former South Africa U19 captain, who is his captain at franchise level at the Titans.
“It is exciting times to have him there.
“We have just gone through a successful four-day game together for the Titans as an opening pair and, hopefully, we have longevity.
“We need to have a bit of stability and consistency and, hopefully, we can have a couple of years or seasons together.
“Obviously‚ it will improve our batting throughout the summer‚” Elgar said.
Elgar said he had not spoken at length to Markram about what to expect at test level because he wanted him to settle in his mind and process what has been happening around him.
“He is trying to take everything in at the moment because things happened so quickly.
“He went from being Titans captain in the Sunfoil Series to test opener in a week.
“From my side‚ it’s good just to have him settle his own mind and take it in his own way.
“I am sure he has his own way and when we get closer to the test match, we will obviously sit down and have a normal chat.
“We are actually driving together to Potchefstroom on Wednesday‚ which is a good thing.
“Sometimes you don’t need to talk cricket‚ you just need to give him peace of mind because he is a special cricketer.”