South Africa target England ‘insecurities’

Stand-in captain Elgar confident of series glory It is a good opportunity to make a dent, he says

There has been a lot made of the absence of Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers but as far as South Africa are concerned there are plenty of “insecurities” in the England side to exploit this week.

South Africa have a proud record in England. They have finished off England captains on their past three tours and lost only one series in this country since readmission 25 years ago. South Africa are second in the Test rankings, two places higher than England, and won in Australia last winter.

They have become so accustomed to life without De Villiers that stand-in captain Dean Elgar considers them to be missing just one regular player this week in Du Plessis. The message is clear. They have moved on from De Villiers.

Elgar captains South Africa for the first time today on one of the most prestigious occasions in cricket: a Lord’s Test. Given a couple more days, Du Plessis would be here to lead the side but, for the sake of clarity, the decision was made earlier this week that Elgar would captain so Du Plessis could spend more time at home with his wife after what was described as a “difficult birth” last week of their first child. In his place, Elgar was eloquent and relaxed as he spoke about leading his country on a ground where they have not lost a Test match since 1998.

When Elgar was asked why it was a good time to play England, he replied: “New leadership, a few new faces in their batting line-up, a few injury concerns.

“Sitting here as a South African player I see it as a good opportunity for us to try to make a dent. They have their own insecurities. They’re under new leadership and everyone is asking [Joe] Root what his captaincy is going to be like.”

South Africa cannot move to No 1 in the rankings this summer but they could set up that possibility by beating England and then defeating India at home later in the year. Du Plessis’s absence weakens the batting but Elgar has a strong seam attack with Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander brilliant at bowling to left-handers (England have five in the top seven), while Kagiso Rabada is considered the world’s best bowler.