England series was a real eye-opener, says Dean Elgar after Proteas lose at The Oval

Cape Town - Proteas captain Dean Elgar has lamented his team’s poor batting efforts that have led to the visitors losing the Test series 2-1 to England at The Oval on Monday.

South Africa only passed 200 once in five attempts, with their 326 at Lord’s in the series opener also providing the backbone for their sole victory.

Furthermore, it has been a tale of batting woe with 151 and 179 produced at Old Trafford before a further nightmare of 118 and 169 at The Oval. This led to two crushing defeats of an innings and 85 runs and nine wickets respectively.

Only opener Sarel Erwee was able to post a lonesome half-century - let alone a century - by a South African throughout the series.

“A good first innings helped us at Lord's, first-innings runs are so big in the UK, and we've failed in that department. You need runs on the board,” Elgar said.

🚨 RESULT | ENGLAND WIN BY 9 WICKETS

England wrap up the third Test to claim back-to-back victories and secure the series 2-1#ENGvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/TOfkAo07lQ

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) September 12, 2022

“Tough decision (regarding selection), it didn't work this game, but lots of eye-opening experiences for those guys. Lot of learning for those players. The grind’s going to be hard work.

“I’ve got to give our bowlers credit, they ran in and did all that was asked of them, but it all boils down to our batting.”

England captain Ben Stokes, who was also named player of the series, praised his team’s overall ability to grind out a result even when their backs were against the wall.

“It's been a great series for us as a team. We’ve had no real individual stand-out performance. Different people have put their hands up. Toss is something you love to win, you still have to execute. When it comes to Test cricket, it’s who executes their plans better. When you’ve got bowlers like Jimmy (James Anderson), Broady (Stuart Broad) and (Ollie) Robinson, you try to manage them. It’s about understanding when I have to bring the best out of them. They have been outstanding,” Stokes said.

He also stated that the only way to reap rewards in the long run is by keeping faith in the system’s principles.

“For me, it's about clarity. There’s a reason why we’ve been able to go out there and perform. With this game being shortened, our main aim was to get a result. We’ll always play the way that’s going to entertain the people. It’s very important to give guys time to perform. (Ollie) Pope showed us what he's capable of doing. Credit to (Alex) Lees and Zak (Crawley). Opening is very tough in England. Don’t underestimate the way they set the tone,” Stokes said.

“They (Anderson and Broad) are phenomenal. To have two of the great seam bowlers, I feel very blessed. They keep turning up day in and day out, they keep believing. A lot of young cricketers will look up to them.”

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