Resilience is an art and the core ingredient in the makeup of a Test opening batsman, and one such batsman who strikes that ideal balance is Dean Elgar, according to the views of the renowned former opener and Proteas legend Gary Kirsten.

Resilience cannot be coached, it can only be adopted, and opening batsmen, in particular, are a “weird bunch” who play a vital role within a team in terms of the mental aspect of the game.

“Test opening batsmen are generally quite resilient people because there are so many unpredictables and variables when facing a new ball against fresh and fast bowlers,” Kirsten told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“Their performances may not be as consistent as a middle-order batsman so they need to be resilient around managing that, and Dean Elgar has been a great example of that.

“He’s managed to create longevity in his career, sometimes in really tough batting conditions.”

An opening Test batsman has to have the ability to ‘rough’ it out at the start of an innings, thereby building up esteem and setting the tone for the rest of the batting order, which is a foundational aspect that needs to be prioritised.

“Opening batsmen are a weird bunch, but they play a very important role mentally in a team,” Kirsten said.

“Generally, you are looking for guys who can tough it out a bit and who enjoy the challenge of a new ball, [while discovering] what that means to them…”

This is a snippet of an article in issue 13 of Cricket Fanatics Magazine. Subscribe below to read the full article.