South Africa’s Test captain Dean Elgar defended his team against allegations of “unbearable sledging” during the first Test against Bangladesh in Durban on Thursday. He added that Bangladesh players need to be “hardened” if they want to play the game at a higher level.
Ahead of the second Test at St George’s Park starting Friday, Elgar said South Africa played a tough game but stopped using abusive language towards their opponents.
Bangladesh cricket operations chief Jalal Younis said on Tuesday that his board would make an official complaint to the International Cricket Council, describing it as biased umpiring and “sledging” of the home team.
Elgar said, “I don’t think they are fair in any way. We play the game harder (but) if we were giving back what we were getting when we were batting.
“This is Test cricket. When it comes to playing at this level it is a one man environment and I still want to play this game hard.
“We do not swear or use abusive language at Bangladesh batsmen as we still respect them. I think they need to toughen up and maybe play the game at a level they’re not used to,” Elgar said.
The South Africa captain said the message for his players was: “We do everything with dignity and we don’t throw away our badges or our names.
“I honestly haven’t seen any bad sledging from his side either. I think this is Test cricket and we need to dry our eyes sometimes.”
Umpiring in Durban was in the news with an unusually high number of 21 reviews – 11 by Bangladesh and 10 by South Africa – with four reviews for each team.
South Africa’s Marais Erasmus and Adrian Holdstock were the men in charge under the ICC’s coronavirus restrictions, which has led to Bangladeshis calling on neutral umpires.
“The umpiring was tough. I don’t think the wicket helped. There was variable bounce that could challenge the umpires,” Elgar said.
“I feel for them because they are good umpires. There is a need to talk about the human factor, they make mistakes, as do players, but I am pretty sure they are going to learn a lot from it.
“The umpires make the decision and we need to respect that. Technology is there for a reason. If you don’t use technology, you’re also holding yourself accountable for their decisions.”
Elgar appeared at the online press conference with bruises on his face and stitches over his right eye. He said it was the result of slipping in a shower in Durban on Monday night.
“I have got some stitches in my forehead,” he said. “I batted today, it was a concern where my helmet rests. I don’t think I’m far from where the doctor takes stitches. But I’m fine.”
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