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Elgar warns South Africa of complacency in pursuit of 3-0

Elgar warns South Africa of complacency in pursuit of 3-0
January 11, 2019
JOHANNESBURG (92 news) - South Africa already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series against Pakistan, but Dean Elgar, their stand-in captain, has warned his side of complacency ahead of the final Test on Friday, 11 January.
A 3-0 result will push South Africa to No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings, and Elgar doesn’t want a repeat of what happened against India last year, when they failed to complete a sweep. “Even though we have the series in the bag, we have been in that position before and we have let it slip. We let it slip here against India which actually hurt quite a lot,” said Elgar. “Hopefully, that past experience is a learning experience for all of us.
“My message to the squad is quite straightforward – if there is any complacency in the squad we have to iron out that crease right now. We have a massive goal as a side, we want to win here 3-0.” This will be the second time Elgar captains South Africa. His debut as captain came at Lord’s in 2017, when Faf du Plessis was on paternity leave, but South Africa were soundly beaten by 211 runs at the time. Despite that, Elgar will make the most of the experience. “The whole experience in England was a lot more chaotic,” he said. “It was the start of the series against England, who are a tough Test-playing nation, take nothing away from Pakistan. It was hectic, I remember running around at Lord’s, doing media with a lot of reporters, that was quite intimidating.” He is used to the grind now, and there was even time for a laugh with the media. “I am a lot older now. I would like to think that I have learnt a lot more during my past experiences and dealing with the press in South Africa is a breeze,” he joked. “This time around we have the series in the bag but there is still a massive goal for us going into this Test match. We still want to drive home the final nail, which I feel we deserve because we have played great cricket throughout the series.”