AUS vs SA: “Unfortunately we are all learning in the most ruthless and brutal way” says Dean Elgar

• Australia win three-Test series 2-0 with third and final Test in Sydney.
• Elgar blames inexperience of his players for their poor batting performance.
• South Africa’s only other Test in 2023 will come against India after World Cup.

Dean Elgar, the captain of South Africa, described his team’s batting collapse against Australia in the second Test match here on Thursday as a “hammering,” and he said his inexperienced team had discovered its lessons the hard way.

At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, South Africa lost the match on the fourth morning after being bowled out for 189 runs in the first innings and scoring only 204 runs in the second to Australia’s declared first innings score of 575/8.

Australia won the three-Test series 2-0 before the third and final match in Sydney beginning on January 4 after winning the first Test at Brisbane within two days.

Elgar acknowledged that his less-experienced teammates “had to move on quite rapidly” because they “haven’t been up to speed.”

“Not easy right now; that was a little battering. We must pick up the pace and intensity that Test cricket demands. We had some good moments, but not many,” Elgar remarked following the game on Thursday.

“Not many good things” (for us). The drawbacks outweigh the advantages. It wasn’t a really strong performance. I thought the circumstances were favourable for competitive Test cricket, but I am dissatisfied with the outcome,” he continued.

It was a bit of a hammering…inexperience is hurting us, says #SouthAfrica‘s #DeanElgar after another embarrassing defeat

Read: https://t.co/lhaXG0fxeE#AUSvsSA pic.twitter.com/dUrTB2XmHP

— IANS (@ians_india) December 29, 2022

He added that his players were “learning in the most merciless and brutal way” and expressed concern that South Africa didn’t face challenging opponents more frequently.

“Our players need to be exposed to Test cricket, and we need to play more of it. Our guys need exposure to that, even though we’re taking hiding as we did in the first two Tests played here and the England series that we had.

Elgar remarked in the post-game news conference, “Unfortunately we are all learning in the most brutal and ruthless way, but I think there are more learnings out of this than going out and playing against a team that’s of equal strength and we beat them.

He is correct, and South Africa will play the eighth-ranked West Indies in a two-Test series right after that. According to a report their only other Test in 2023 will be against India at the end of the year, following the ODI World Cup, and will be a part of the following WTC cycle.

Elgar attributed South Africa’s series loss to his players’ inexperience. “Our lack of experience is really hurting us. Over the past few years, we have lost a lot of batters. There are chances for guys to claim their seats, but our lack of experience is hurting us. There is much to play for and ride on. 2-1 is more appealing than 3-0. We need to move on quite rapidly because we have not been up to speed.

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