Former Proteas Test captain Dean Elgar is not happy about South Africa’s tour to New Zealand next year clashing with the SA20 tournament.
With the two-Test tour taking place early February next year - at the same time as the SA20 - Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Pholetsi Moseki told IOL last week that they won’t withdraw the Test team, while continuing to back the SA20.
That means South Africa, who are already playing very little Test cricket, will in all likelihood send an under-strength team to New Zealand - one comprising of players who aren’t picked for the local T20 tournament.
TEST TOUR ALERT 🚨
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 17, 2023
We're heading to Aotearoa 🏏
🔴![CDATA[]]>🔴 2 Tests
🗓️ 4 - 17 February 2024#SummerOfCricket #NZvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/eHK4C0ST3o
Elgar believes it will give five-day cricket a verdere bloedneus in South Africa and is unhappy because it means the players are suffering again.
He tells the City Press: “It’s tough to take. It shows what the narrative is when it comes to Test cricket and again it’s the players who suffer. A high percentage of the players still really want to play Test cricket and it’s just extremely sad and clarifies a lot of things when it comes to how Test cricket is viewed by the authorities…”
South Africa have only played three Test matches to date this year, with their next match scheduled against India on Boxing Day.
In comparison, they played a total of 11 Test matches last year.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za