Dean Elgar goes and with him goes South Africa’s last link with the team that has taken them to the top of the Test rankings in the early 2010s. He came in with a legendary line-up. Together, the line-up dominated at home and overseas for the earliest part of the last decade and looked menacing.

Walking into the dressing room for his first Test, Dean Elgar had stars from the early 2000s Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith with him. In them, he had arguably one of the greatest players Cricket has ever seen and the best opener/captain South Africa has produced.

With Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Ab De Villiers, Dale Steyn, and Morne Morkel he had another group of cricketers who were in their prime. Ab De Villiers in particular established himself as a beast in World Cricket and could do it all becoming possibly their biggest superstar.

In Dean Elgar, South Africa had a batter who could not look more ugly or more gritty than him. He was the perfect replacement for Graeme Smith, who called time on his career two years after Elgar made his debut.

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Nine years on from Graeme Smith’s last Test we have Dean Elgar going. Over the nine years though he has established himself as a rare kind of player from a rare generation of star South African Cricketers. Between 2006 and 2015 South Africa only lost two Test series. Both defeats came to Australia both at home and away. From the current crop, Dean Elgar is one of the few and maybe the only one to come up in that period. His longest-standing teammate now, Kagiso Rabada, came in 2015 when the golden group started to move on.

Temba Bavuma is another who was a part of the team in 2014, but by the time he came in the side was on its downward spiral as the number one Test team. As Elgar grew into his Test career though he quickly filled in for Graeme Smith. He matched him as the gritty opener with a lot of character.

From 2013, he saw a senior retire each year starting with Jacques Kallis. With experience leaving, Dean Elgar had to take up the role of the experienced player in the side, anchoring the innings while also enforcing the innings. By the time he became Test Captain, Dean Elgar had the challenge of battling with transformation targets, transitions, and the differences in the side.

From being a part of the team at their highest he was all of a sudden guiding them through their worst phase in over two decades. Comparisons with Graeme Smith arose. Throughout his career as a batter, he looked like one of the worst players to watch aesthetically. He was stubborn though and very proactive.

He carried the bat on a few occasions throughout his career. At Johannesburg in particular, in January 2018, he came out with his grittiest knock on a pitch that threatened to call off the game with uneven bounce, facing India. Opposistions-wise, he loved playing against both India and Australia. He came up with a tough 160 in Vizag, which was the best part of a disastrous series.

He managed some similar knocks at home to bring South Africa back from a deficit to win a home series against India. Dean Elgar though despite all his achievements in Test Cricket could not replicate his success in the shorter formats.

He now walks away as the last remaining link between the current South African side and a South African team that was among the best in their history. His knock in the first Test had him transform his style of play one more time batting aggressively. He now leads the side one more time, leaving the international stage to mark the end of another era.

Former South African captain Dean Elgar has officially announced his retirement from international cricket after the upcoming two-match Test series against India, marking the end of his illustrious 12-year career. The left-handed opener, who played 84 Tests and eight One-Day Internationals for South Africa, has been a consistent performer in the longer format.

Dean Elgar assumed the role of full-time Test captain following Quinton de Kock’s resignation and led the team against the West Indies in June 2021. South Africa’s red-ball coach, Shukri Conrad, expressed confidence in the Proteas maintaining their proud Test record against India, with Temba Bavuma eyeing the World Test Championship 2023-25.

In a released statement, Elgar expressed gratitude for the 12-year opportunity to represent his country and announced that the home series against India would be his last in South African colors. He aims to conclude his test career on a positive note in Cape Town, describing it as his favorite stadium where he scored his first Test run against New Zealand.

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Elgar reflected on his cricket journey, emphasizing the incredible experience and learning opportunities the game provided. Having scored over 5000 runs at an average of 37.28 since his Test debut in 2012, Elgar contributed significantly to South Africa’s Test success, including guiding the team to third place in the ICC World Test Championship and a series triumph over India in January 2022.

Notably, Elgar excelled in the 4-Day Domestic Series this season, amassing 402 runs in six innings for the Titans at an average of 80.40. As the Proteas gear up for the two-match Test series starting on December 26, Elgar’s retirement announcement adds a sentimental touch to his final appearances for the national team.

Dean Elgar has been at the helm of the South African Test side for a year, and South Africa has transformed their style of play to match his grittiness. Dean Elgar the batter is one of the strongest characters you will see on a Cricket Field. He is willing to lose countless battles with the bowlers, take blows on the body, play the most outrageous shots, but still hangs in there and ends up having the last laugh.

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South Africa are doing the same. Their last two series is a prime example of how South Africa stayed down, saw hopelessness and came back roaring. Against India, South Africa lost the first Test but won the next two with ease. Here in New Zealand, South Africa were all-out for 95 in their first innings, looked nowhere near comfortable and lost by an innings. They seemed set to lose their first series against New Zealand, but again fought the odds to win the next Test.

Dean Elgar took over as skipper after Quinton De Kock decided to step down due to mental health, and Faf Du Plessis went through his tenure. South Africa was still in transition, but the period that followed didn’t see South Africa lose a single Test series. They beat West Indies and India, and now drew a series with New Zealand. Captain Dean Elgar is walking the talk as well. He keeps speaking with high confidence ahead of a series, and uses his unique technique to battle through while inspiring his team to do the same.

His tenure hasn’t been short of controversy. The upheavals in Cricket South Africa continue with Boucher in the spotlight while transformation targets still remain a spot of bother. Dean Elgar himself spoke about these issues but didn’t let him get distracted as he stayed full of focus on the field. Under him the Test line-up looks pretty balanced all of a sudden. They have a strong middle-order with Temba Bavuma and Van Der Dussen looking fluent. The bowling attack led by Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj is among the best in the World, and all of a sudden, without too many superstars, South Africa look very good.

The bench strength is also improving. Keegan Peterson was South Africa’s best batter against India, but in his absence, South Africa are finding suitable replacements to do the job, unearthing new talents. Dean Elgar’s own batting form is pretty good. He shepherded the run-chases against India on pitches with uneven bounce. He copped a fair few on the body, faced a lot of banter but still made it through.

His team is fourth on the World Test Championship table. Dean Elgar will have to lead the side at home against Bangladesh, and then take them to England. His captaincy journey started in England back when Faf Du Plessis went on paternity leave. Since then, Dean Elgar has come a long way, and has now completed a full year as South Africa’ s Test captain. With a good string of fixtures ahead, there is a strong chance for South Africa to make a push for the World Test Championship Finals, and Dean Elgar will be waiting to get back on the field as South Africa continues their rise through a small crack in the door.

South Africa last played Test Cricket six months ago, in a series against West Indies that could be seen as the starting point in their attempt to come back into Test Cricket. They have a new captain, and the side contains no members from the team that attained the number one Test ranking, back in 2012. Faf Du Plessis is the latest member to retire from the golden group, and South Africa began their transition well, with a series win in the West Indies.

The summer is key for South Africa, as they look to make a strong entry in the World Test Championship points table. They finished fifth last time around, and couldn’t play some key home games, which could have helped them finish a little higher. The last cycle though, was full of chaos. There was issues with the board, and Faf Du Plessis did well to see the team through that as skipper, but South Africa struggled to perform in the given phase.

South Africa has been one of the least active teams in the World Test Championship. They lost the chance of hosting some crucial series, when England and Australia called of their series. South Africa now has a good amount of games ahead of them, as they kick of their resurgence. They face India at home, and then travel to New Zealand to take on the World Test Champions, before facing Bangladesh back at home. They have around Ten Tests planned in 2022.

Another factor behind the disturbance in South Africa’s development is the timing of their players retirement. Mark Boucher retired in 2012, and since then South Africa has lost a key player each year. The core of their team slowly fell away, and the side has had to deal with an influx of new players. The lack of stability in the board has been another factor behind that has affected South Africa.

The transformation targets have also been changing, as South Africa keep moving from six to seven players of color in the side, on average. The current condition is to play six players of color, while two must be black Africans.

With some much turbulence, the eleven will be a challenge for South Africa. The top-order is settled with the gritty leader, Dean Elgar holding one spot, along with Aiden Markram, who is doing well across formats. Keegan Peterson is likely to play at number three. He didn’t have a great time in the West Indies, but could be given a few chances to settle into the role. At four and five, South Africa have Rassie Van Der Dussen, and Temba Bavuma. Both players are crucial for South Africa, and are in decent nick as well.

The wicket-keeping spot will be taken by Quinton De Kock, but with De Kock likely to miss one or two games due to family commitments, Kyle Verreynne could come into the eleven at some stage in this series. Generally, South Africa prefer to use a pace bowling all-rounder at number seven, and Wiann Mulder could be the choice, as a fourth pace option.

Keshav Maharaj is fixed as the spinner, and his spot in the side is nowhere near up for debate. The pace attack though contains a handful of options. Anrich Nortje’s injury has ended the debate between Lungi Ngidi, and Duanne Oliver. Both of them could be in the pace attack, along with Rabada, who is another fixed member in the side.

Lungi Ngidi’s fitness is still in doubt, but incase he is fit he is a likely starter. South Africa have a few other pace options, with Marco Jensen likely to find a place in the eleven at some stage in the series.