Dean Elgar will captain South Africa in the absence of Faf du Plessis in the final Test against Pakistan, starting in Johannesburg on Friday, 11 January.
Du Plessis was suspended for one Test and fined 20% of his match fee after his team were found guilty of maintaining a slow over-rate during South Africa’s nine-wicket victory in the second Test.
Elgar will stand in for du Plessis in what will be just his second Test as captain – he captained South Africa at Lord’s in the first Test against England in 2017, a match they lost by 211 runs.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been suspended for one Test for a second minor over-rate offence within 12 months.
READ ?https://t.co/4zfyF2onJT pic.twitter.com/KbTUjgUWg0
— ICC (@ICC) January 6, 2019
Linda Zondi, the CSA National Selection Panel convener, said the idea was to groom South Africa’s pool of leaders. “The appointment of Elgar as stand-in captain is part of our strategy to develop our pool of leaders,” he said.
“We have previously used Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock in this role in ODI matches, and Dean has previously captained the Proteas at Test match level against England at Lord’s in 2017.”
Meanwhile, Pieter Malan, the opener, has been put on standby for the third Test after Markram sustained an injury to his right thigh during the second Test at Newlands. He will undergo a fitness test on the eve of the match after which a call will be made on his availability.
It took South Africa less than 10 overs to wrap up a series victory against Pakistan on the fourth morning at Cape Town.#SAvPAK REPORT ?https://t.co/758bkVE4ot pic.twitter.com/16yff1wWui
— ICC (@ICC) January 6, 2019
“Pieter Malan has an outstanding track record in four-day domestic cricket over the past two seasons, having made more than 1700 runs including seven centuries,” said Zondi.
“He has also made the step up to South Africa A level, first against Australia and then against India A on the sub-continent.”
South Africa have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and will aim for a clean sweep in Johannesburg.
