INDIA TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA, 2018

Elgar believes Test should've been called off due to state of pitch

by Tristan Holme • Last updated on

South Africa batsman Dean Elgar believes that the third Test against Indiashould have been called off due to the state of the pitch before he was hit on the head, and suggested that the red tape required to reach that decision should be cut to avoid another Phil Hughes-style incident.

The question of whether the Wanderers wicket should be declared unsafe hovered over the third day of the Testas batsmen were regularly hit on the hands and body by deliveries that spat off a length. Although no action was taken when India's batsmen took several blows in the first two sessions of the day, the inconsistent bounce led match referee, Andy Pycroft, to summon the two team managers in the tea interval, when he told them that officials were continuing to monitor the situation.

When Elgar was hit flush in the grill by a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer late in the day, umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar led the players off the field. The remainder of the day's play was called off while the officials consulted with the two captains, before the ICC later confirmed that the match would resume as usual on the fourth morning. India went on to win the match by 63 runs but Elgar, who returned to the crease and carried his bat as he finished unbeaten on 86, felt it could have been called off.

"Last night was unfortunate that we had to go off in that period and it was unfortunate that someone had to get hit on the face for actions to be taken," he said. "But those actions are out of the players hands so we had no say in the matter."

Asked whether he thought the match should have been called off before he was hit, Elgar said: "I do think so, yes. On day three the wicket didn't play great. Faf (du Plessis) mentioned earlier in his presser that batters got hit a lot more than in usual Test matches. I do think if there was a period to call if off it was sooner rather than later. Unfortunately it took an incident of being hit in the head, where we could have had another incident of what happened in Australia. I think there is a bit of red tape that guys need to address and maybe do it sooner.

"I know that people want to watch Test cricket the whole day, but we're also human beings. We're not just machines, we're not just going to take blows and accept putting our bodies on the line. It was unfortunate that it had to go into that depth, but I do think the game or the situation of the pitch could have been addressed sooner."

Broadcasters suggested that the delivery which struck Elgar was a regular short ball, pointing out that it pitched approximately 8.5 metres from the stumps. But Elgar insisted that having faced fast bowlers around the world and batted at the Wanderers regularly in both international and domestic cricket, there was a "freak" element to the Bumrah delivery.

"I had already been peppered three or four times before that. I know what was spoken throughout the day and I know they had a feeling of this wicket not being the greatest. It was extremely freak. I've faced many fast bowlers before and I know the Wanderers wicket has that steep bounce, but I have never experienced it like that," he said.

"I can't think I would have played it any better because if it was that short on a wicket with bounce, it would have gone way over my head and at least given me some time to get out of the way. It's a freak moment and thankfully the umpires had sanity about the incident."

© Cricbuzz

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