The Proteas had suffered a rather embarrassing defeat to Australia in their second Test at the MCG on Thursday, a loss that skipper Dean Elgar was understandably disappointed by, particularly from a personal performance viewpoint.

South Africa was thrashed by an innings and 182 runs inside four days of play. The result meant they had already lost the three-match series, after having lost the first Test by 6 wickets. It also ended their unbeaten run on Australian soil, having last lost a series there in the 2005/06 season.

Elgar failed to lead from the front, scoring just 26 and 0 in his two innings respectively. But SA’s top order collapses had been the story of the day on many occasions from within the Proteasset-up lately, and in all formats, too. 

They failed to get going once again in the second Test and their total of 204 in the second innings had jokingly been lauded because it was their first over-200 score in eight innings. 

“Currently, there’s a lot going through the mind, but I think I kind of made peace with it last night. Whether it was over only tomorrow it was always going to be a tough pill to swallow,” Elgar said.

“There aren’t a lot of positives – only a few – the negatives quite outweigh the positives currently. Pretty weak performance, I’d say, in conditions that were really favourable for Test cricket.

“I’m pretty disappointed on how things ended up. I still wanted to see us with a fighting chance going out and giving the Aussies a bit of a tough time [with regards to] taking pride in our wickets. The way it unfolded was quite disappointing.”

Australia scored a mammoth 575/8 declared in their first and only innings, which proved to be the most match-defining outing. The Proteas bowlers had struggled in some departments, but considering the wicket was particularly flat, the batters should have stepped up to plate considerably more. 

Elgar noted that Anrich Nortje, who claimed figures of 3/92 in 25 overs, and Kyle Verreynne, who scored 52 and 33 with the bat, were the “stand-out performers” from the Test, adding that there were “a lot more negatives which I won’t get into”. 

Those negatives have filled a dark cloud that has hung more over SA’s batsmen, and which has become a stigma that Elgar himself struggles to address.

“I don’t think there has been a lot of courage,” Elgar said of their approach to the Test series so far. “I think there’s been a lot more with ball in hand. A lot more character was shown with the ball.

“Even though the Aussies batted us into the ground, I saw a lot of characters come out in our bowling ranks. [But] maybe not as much in our batting. It’s a tough one to digest currently. If we did this in two days’ time I think I could’ve given a lot more feedback.”

When asked how the Proteas can turn their fortunes around, Elgar replied with a blunt, rhetorical question: “That’s a tough one. Do you have an answer for me?

But he added that the team as a collective need to dig deep into giving themselves a sense of closure that provides “positive affirmation”. He also said they need to “keep on going” with they had originally planned when they first landed on Australia’s shores.

“I still feel the guys we have here are talented cricketers – and hardened first-class cricketers – but that they’re just lacking experience at Test level. You’ve still got to show faith in them, and hopefully that turns things around.

“As they say in cricket, ‘you’re only one knock away from being back in form’. There’s a lot of merit in that.”