Africa-Press – South-Africa. Proteas Test skipper Dean Elgar said he was going to play two spinners in the first Test against Bangladesh regardless of the availability of his Indian Premier League contingent.
Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj took 14 of the 20 Bangladeshi wickets that fell in the first Test which South Africa won by 220 runs at Kingsmead on Monday.
Harmer and Maharaj shared 96 of the 136.5 overs South Africa bowled and not only kept Bangladesh under wraps from an economy rate perspective, but also attacked when it was required.
SCORECARD | Proteas v Bangladesh, First Test
Elgar was in the fortunate position of being the captain who had two crack spinners at his disposal and it was a marvel for him to see Harmer and Keshav in action.
“Playing in Durban, you have to see what the nature of the pitch is like, but it was awesome to see two spin bowlers in tandem, having it on a string and dominating,” Elgar said. “It was something that we’ve always wanted to see and it was great to see both of them competing at such a high level.
“Most batting groups would have struggled against them, and it was a horses for courses line of thinking.
“Even if the IPL guys were here, Keshav and Harmy would have operated in tandem and they would have bowled most of our overs.
“The skill level and the intensity were awesome to witness.”
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While Duanne Olivier was the most experienced pacer, he came across as rather flat and nearly wasted the second new ball when Bangladesh batted.
Lizaad Williams, who was on debut, looked far more threatening with the ball, taking 3/54 from his 18.5 overs.
Elgar said there was the temptation to give the seamers more of a go, but allowing the spinners the breadth they wanted was a measure of them being ruthless.
“I could have bowled a seamer, but I wanted the guys to be ruthless and it’s a style of cricket that I want to develop,” Elgar said.
“I want the guys to follow and I was getting there with the previous squad. We’ve got a new squad now and we’re trying to expose them to the kind of level I want the guys to be playing at.
“It’s not always going to work, but it’s about being repetitive, consistent and being on the same page and being fair to the players.
“I want positivity from the players and speaking the same language going forward.”
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