"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of the talking at the moment about it. We just concentrate on what we do," Ben Stokes had replied to Dean Elgar's comments a day before the Lord's test between England and South Africa reached its start.&nbsp;



The ongoing series against South Africa was always going to be crucial for England. More so, after RSA skipper Dean Elgar had discarded their BazBall approach as something sans 'longevity'.&nbsp;



Days ahead of RSA's tour of England, Elgar had said, "The New England style is quite interesting. But I do not see that there's longevity in brave cricket because I see things evening out over time in Test cricket. I think it can go one of the two ways for them and it can go south very quickly."



It did go pretty 'south' for Stokes and co. in the first test against the Proteas.&nbsp;



Put in to bat first for the first time since their adoption of the BazBall approach, England never had a clue.&nbsp;



On a Day 1 deck with overcast conditions, the English batters were exposed against the pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje.&nbsp;



England were bundled for 165 in the first innings as Rabada claimed 5 by his bowling trickstery and Nortje took three scalps, including that of in-form <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/jonny-bairstow/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jonny Bairstow</a> who played all over Nortje's rocket of an in-swinger that shattered his stumps.?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://admin.icccricketschedule.com/uploads/2022/08/bairstowengvsa_1200x768-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-93112"/><figcaption>Jonny Bairstow failed to fire in both the innings and had no answer to the searing pace of Nortje (Photo Credit: AP)</figcaption></figure>



Though the SA bowlers definitely put on a class act, England's overly attacking theme also turned out to be a major cause of their downfall. The dismissals of Crawley, Lees, Bairstow, and Stokes were rash.&nbsp;



England's second innings wasn't much better either as the side could only manage 149. Once again, half the cause of demise was the attacking intent: Crawley got LBW while sweeping off a full ball, Foakes poked at a delivery very far off the stumps, and Ben Stokes launched Kagiso Rabada straight to long-on.&nbsp;



Obviously, there was some probing bowling from the SA pacers during the hosts' 2nd innings. <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/anrich-nortje/" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/anrich-nortje/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nortje</a> and Marco Jansen, in particular, orchestrated some testing spells.&nbsp;



Regardless, it was the never-back-down style of England even during these testing phases that caused their disgraceful downfall. Not once did the batters collectively try to save their wickets and respect the bowlers (something they did both against NZ and India).&nbsp;



Except Ollie Pope in the first and Lees in the second innings, none of the knocks from the English camp lasted more than 30 balls.&nbsp;



Death by BazBall: 165 all-out off 45 overs in the first outing (3.67 rpo), and 149 all-out off 37.4 overs in the second (3.96 rpo).&nbsp;



<h2>South Africa outperform England with the bat</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://admin.icccricketschedule.com/uploads/2022/08/images-1-edited.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-93114"/><figcaption>Dean Elgar led with example with his tone-setting 47 (Photo Credit: AP)</figcaption></figure>



Sandwiched between the double-bust from England was a sensible batting clinic that the Proteas staged.&nbsp;



Elgar ?who had spoken so much before the game? showed that he could talk with his bat as well. Combining with Sarel Erwee, the southpaw added 83 runs for the opening wicket before getting undone by Anderson on 47.



Thereon, Sarel Erwee (73 off 146) held one end up as every batter contributed a little from the other end.&nbsp;



However, at one point, they weren't much ahead in the game at 192 for 5 and a long tail ahead.&nbsp;



But Stokes read too much into his bouncer that dismissed Sarel, and the team strategy started to revolve around bodyline bowling. South Africa's lower-order smartly made use of the loose deliveries on offer as Jansen and Maharaj batted attackingly to score 48 and 41 respectively.&nbsp;



England eventually did realize they should've bowled fuller, but by that time, Elgar and co. had already run away with the match, putting 326 runs on the board. The total was enough to help them win the game with an innings and 12 runs.

ENG vs SA: England face death by BazBall to sink to an innings defeat in 1st test against South Africa

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AUS vs SA: Gabba Pitch ?Potentially Unsafe? says Dean Elgar, raises concerns to the authorities: South African test skipper Dean Elgar has raised concerns over the ?Potentially Unsafe? surface prepared at the Brisbane Gabba for the opening test between Australia and South Africa, which got completed in less than two days. Australia sealed 1st test against South Africa by 6 wickets in under two days' time at Gabba.



While Aussie skipper Pat Cummins reckons there was absolutely nothing wrong on the surface, Dean Elgar has revealed that he had approached the officials during the game's closing hours to question about the pitch. However, he got no response from the officials, he said.



To everyone?s surprise, the Gabba test between Australia and South Africa saw 15 wickets tumbling on day 1 of the test while the second day accounted for as many as 19 wickets. 



"I did ask the umpires when KG [Rabada] got [Travis] Head out down leg, I said 'how long does it go on for until it potentially is unsafe?'," Elgar said. "And then [Anrich] Nortje was bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads. I know the game is dead and buried, it was never to try and change or put a halt to the game. That's where the umpire's discretion comes into play, not us as players. I am definitely not going to say it was safe or unsafe."



The Protea skipper reckons the surface produced a one-sided affair which only aided the bowlers. As many as 34 wickets fell on just two days of play, which isn?t ideal for red-ball cricket.



"You've got to ask yourself the question - is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty-four wickets in two days - a pretty one-sided affair, I would say," Elgar said. "The nature of it, how it started to play with some seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you are kind of on a hiding to none as a batting unit. I don't think it was a very good Test wicket, no."



The pacers from both sides exploited the conditions on offer. There was good sideways movement along with uneven bounce for the bowlers. Barring South Africa?s Kyle Verreyenne, who scored 64 in the 1st innings, and Australia?s Travis Head, who was dismissed 8 shy of a well-made century, no other batter looked comfortable at the Gabba.



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ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/ind-vs-ban-dominant-india-clinch-the-188-run-win-to-go-1-0-up/">IND vs BAN: Dominant India clinch the 188-run win to go 1-0 up</a>



However, denying Elgar?s concerns, Pat Cummins thinks that the surface was nowhere close to being termed dangerous. "No way, it was fine," he said. "Sideways movement, there was a little bit of up and down bounce, but it was fine. There were no balls jumping off a length or anything like that.



"It was certainly tricky. Two days probably isn't ideal?personally, I don't mind it if the groundsman err on the greener side occasionally, [I've] played a lot of Tests where they've erred on the flatter side. Think it was the same for both teams."



Certainly, Gabba has come under scrutiny after the game was over. As far as ICC?s pitch monitoring parameters are concerned, it classifies the pitches into six different categories starting from the lowest (unfit). ?Poor? and ?Below Average? are the other two categories which attract one and three demerit points respectively.



If a ground gets five demerit points in a period of five years, it gets isolated from hosting international matches.



ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/world-test-championship-wtc-points-table-after-ind-vs-ban-1st-test-india-at-no-2-position/">World Test Championship (WTC) Points Table after IND vs BAN 1st Test | India at No. 2 position.</a>

AUS vs SA: Gabba Pitch ?Potentially Unsafe? says Dean Elgar, raises concerns to the authorities

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IND vs SA: Former South African captain Dean Elgar is set to draw curtains to his 11-year-long international cricket at the culmination of the upcoming India vs South Africa two-game test series at home. The two-game test series between India and South Africa starts on Tuesday in Centurian.



Dean Elgar will play the penultimate test of his career at his home ground - at the SuperSport Park in Centurian, starting December 26 - but his last dance will come in Cape Town in the New Year Test.



His 11-year-long career saw several ups and downs, especially in the shortest formats of the game, but it was his test career that kept him rolling all through. His ODI game, may not necessarily be one of the best, but when it comes to the traditional format, Elgar is one of the highly skilled players South African cricket produced.



In the 84-test so far, Elgar has mustered 5146 runs at an average of 37.3. The left-handed batter notched up 23 half-centuries and 13 centuries during his stay in the middle in the longest format of the game.



To highlight his memorable outings, Elgar scored 199 runs against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in 2017?- his highest score in the test format. His career also highlights a fantastic 160-run knock against India in Vishakhapatnam against the likes of R Ashwin and Jadeja.



The batter was instrumental in taking South Africa to a 3-1 victory against Australia back in 2018 in their own backyard. 



Elgar was awarded test captaincy by Cricket South Africa (CSA) back in 2021 and under his eyes the Proteas went on to own several accolades. They finished third in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle and defeated India by 2-1 in the home test series.



Reflecting on his memorable career, Elgar said it was his dream to play the game of cricket, but having to do it for 12 years for his country is nothing less than the wildest dream. 



?Playing the game of cricket has always been a dream of mine but having the opportunity to represent your country is the ultimate," Elgar said in his statement. "Having had the privilege to do it for 12 years internationally is simply beyond my wildest dreams. It has been an incredible journey that I have been fortunate enough to have.



"As they say, ?all good things come to an end?, and the Indian home series will be my last, as I have made the decision to retire from our beautiful game. A game that has given me so much. The Cape Town Test will be my last. My favourite stadium in the world. A place I scored my first Test run against New Zealand and hopefully my last too."



The India vs South Africa 2 matches test series begins in Centurian on December 26, the two teams will then advance to Cape Town for the second test of the series, starting January 3.



ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/ind-vs-sa-test-ishan-kishan-opts-out-of-india-vs-south-africa-tests-citing-mental-fatigue/">IND vs SA Test: Ishan Kishan opts out of India vs South Africa Tests citing ?mental fatigue?</a>



For more details head to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/homepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ICC?s&nbsp;</a>official website.<a href="https://admin.icccricketschedule.com/plugins/gumlet/assets/images/pixel.png"></a>

IND vs SA: South African Dean Elgar to retire from international cricket after India vs South Africa Test

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India are again in the finals of another ICC Tournament. India defeated Australia by 4 wickets in the first semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

IND vs AUS: INDIA Beat AUSTRALIA in SEMIFINAL; Enters the FINAL of ICC Champions Trophy 2025

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India National Cricket Team also were magnificent in the field as likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and others gave their best.

Watch: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma give mouthful to Kuldeep Yadav for his fielding blunder during ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final

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Pakistan cricket squad: Pakistan's ODI and T20I teams for the forthcoming tour of New Zealand have been revealed. Following the Champions Trophy fiasco, the teams have undergone significant alteration. Shadab Khan has returned, while Mohammad Rizwan is no longer the T20I captain.

PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam dropped, Salman Ali Agha the captain as PCB unveil Pakistan's squad for the New Zealand series

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With the India vs Australia semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 around the corner, Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested India's ways to stop Travis Head.

Rohit Sharma given strict orders on how to stop Travis Head in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final

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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is all set to make a massive announcement related to the T20I captaincy of the team.

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