Proteas captain Dean Elgar has fired the first shots ahead of his team’s three-Test series in England.
Under new captain Ben Stokes and Kiwi coach Brendon McCullum, a rejuvenated England recently whitewashed Test world champions New Zealand 3-0 in a home series by playing ‘fearless cricket’.
England chased down stiff targets of 277, 299 and 296 against the Black Caps in swashbuckling style, with Jonny Bairstow scoring 394 runs in the series at an average of 78.80 and a strike rate of 120.12.
While Elgar was impressed with England’s performances, he believes their ‘Bazball’ approach (‘Baz’ is McCullum’s nickname) will wane over time.
“It is always difficult to judge from afar, but I don’t think England’s brave cricket is sustainable,” Elgar told Rapport newspaper. “If New Zealand had taken their catches, England’s new attacking style would have left them with egg on their face.
“England’s new style is quite interesting, but it would have been very different if New Zealand had taken their chances.”
The first Test between England and the Proteas starts on 17 August at Lord’s.
