London 7 September : South Africa captain Dean Elgar has described the decisive third Test against England as the most significant of his time in advance of the clash that will begin at the Kia Oval in London on Thursday.The teams are tied at 1-1 following the fact that the visitors beat the hosts in the first match at Lord’s by 12 runs and an innings.
In their return, the hosts slid to an 85-run win in the second match at Manchester making way for an exciting grandstand finish in the British capital.
The South Africans have enjoyed some time off in the English Midlands since the second Test was completed in just three days on the 27th of August.
Elgar admits that they have put the defeat behind them.
“We’re grieving over that,” Elgar told the press conference prior to the match on Wednesday.”We recognize that it wasn’t the most proudest moment, but in declaring that you have to go through the grievance before you’ve got work to do.
“You don’t want to dwell too long over the events of the past, you need to concentrate on what’s to come.We’ve been enjoying a few days of rest and I’m pretty certain the guys have been able to get rid of the anger.But we’re still eager to go, and we’re relatively fresh in the sense of this.
“We’ve only been playing for just six days of Test cricket in all and so with regard to freshness, we’ve no excuse.However, with regards to hunger we have no excuses for that.
However we must begin at the beginning of ball one.I always say that the scoreboard begins at zero and that’s where we’re right now.”
The Proteas are likely to make a substitution with Ryan Rickelton due to take over in to replace injured Rassie van der Dussen who suffered a sprain in Manchester.Ryan Rickelton is in good form in local cricket earlier in the year, and Elgar suggested that further changes to the team could be considered.
“He’s (Ryan) experienced an enjoyable time in the UK currently playing a little of county cricket” he said.
“So it’s time for him to shine, hopefully.We’re pretty certain that he’ll fill in the gap that was left by Rassie.”
As for the remainder of the XI, the skipper said, “It’s been quite a couple of days off, but we’ve been through plenty of thinking and plenty of difficult decisions taken.I’m certain that there are one or two additional changes we’ll need to make during the next test.
“But I’m very confident in the players that are given the chance.It’s definitely a major Test for us, but I’m sure everyone’s ready to go.We’ve got players who are fit which is a great thing to have We’ve got plenty of alternatives and there could be one or two more changes.”
Elgar also discussed the difficulties both teams were facing in their top teams.
“Up the front it’s quite tough,” he conceded.
“I believe that if you look at both teams, we’ven’t yet achieved the run result to our satisfaction as of yet.It’s been a bit difficult to get through the ball that will always be an obstacle in the UK and has been a problem all in the world.
“But we’re sure that it’s a good idea to adhere to our principles and adhere to our procedures.The players have been prepared well and we’ve had to face extremely difficult conditions at the Oval and the weather hasn’t been a factor.It’s been a great test for us.We must stick to our routines.
“I know that we are just nearer for these things, and I fully know what top order runs mean for an organization to ensure the best chance of winning.It’s been somewhat of an uproar however, it’s something we’ve been working hard on.We’ve spoken for hours about the issue, but now it’s time to take the walk.”
Elgar who was appointed the Proteas captaincy for the last time in March, discussed the significance of the game for Elgar as well as the Proteas.
“I believe it’s the most important test so far in my captaincy time I’ve been in,” he concluded.
“I think it’s the largest.
I believe the players are aware of that, they feel it.It is imperative to take every game as if it’s your last , and the current one will be no exception.This is why it’s massive , and to win it will be an amazing feeling.”
South Africa have already won series against England and Ireland on their trip to the United Kingdom, both in the T20I format.They also lost their One-Day International (ODI) series 1-1 against the world champions England at the beginning of the tour.
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