On the eve of the series decider, Dean Elgar, fronted up to the media and admitted that there were tough selection decisions that had to be made during the 11-day break from the 2nd Test and that at least two changes will be made for The Oval Test.
The injury to Rassie van der Dussen has meant that Ryan Rickelton will replace him as he is the next in line as per pecking order in South Africa’s batting unit.
“Ryan Rickelton is our next batter in. I’m pretty confident he’ll come in to replace Rassie. It’s his time to shine hopefully.” Elgar told the media on Wednesday.
Another change that we might see on Thursday is that of Simon Harmer being replaced by Marco Jansen. But that might not be the only other change from the Proteas camp.
After a long struggle, both as opener and in the middle-order, Aiden Markram might have played his last Test at Old Trafford. At least for the foreseeable future.
Read: The Curious Case Of Aiden Markram
His talent has never been in doubt but more than his talent, it’s his superior Test match experience over the other batters on tour that has seen him play the first two Tests. But Elgar admitted that using experience as a selection criteria might not have worked in their favour in the first two Tests.
“For me it (selection) was purely based on numbers by matches under the belt. It’s worked and it hasn’t worked. It’s a tough one,” said Elgar.
“Some guys haven’t come off and unfortunately you have to make decisions going forward. This is a crunch game for us. The experience factor is still very important but we’ve got a lot of resources in our squad.”
Read: Decoding the ‘experience first’ selection criteria
England announced their XI on the eve of the Test as they have been doing throughout the summer. But Elgar refused to do the same. Instead, he further hinted that we’re in for a big surprise come Thursday morning.
“We’ve had a lot of thinking and a lot of tough decisions being made. I’m sure there’s maybe one or two changes that we’re going to enforce for the next Test. I’m extremely confident with the guys that will be given the opportunity. It’s going to be a big Test for us but I think everyone is raring to go.” he continued.
Mind games and hints aside, Elgar and his men have a job to do. He himself has never won a Test series against England home or away. And given his current age, he might not get to achieve this feat if they play within themselves this week. But Elgar is a fighter, coach Mark Boucher too is a fighter and the entire squad is filled with players with big hearts and a huge hunger for a series win in England.
“I’m pretty sure we don’t need more motivation going forward into this game. The hunger’s there. We know it’s a big game for us as a South African unit,”
“With regards to freshness, we’ve got no excuse around that. With regards to hunger, we’ve got no excuse around that. Now it’s time to walk the walk.” He concluded.
The series decider will start at 12pm SAST and will be played in England’s oldest cricket stadium, The Oval.
