Dean Elgar believes he has conquered a demon by scoring his third Test century, against the West Indies at Port Elizabeth on the first day’s play on Friday.

‘I tend to get to the 20’s and give my wicket away,’ he said. ‘It’s something that I have been fighting with myself personally throughout the last few games.’

Elgar became only the third South African opener to score a century at the ground, and credited it to composure and persistence on a slow-scoring day.

“At times there were a lot of dot balls bowled to us. I think they had three maiden overs at us at a stage. It’s one of the chats we had in the build-up to this Test, the patience aspect. Even with the ball in hand you have to be patient, sometimes you don’t pick up wickets as often as you want to.

His 179-run partnership with Faf du Plessis followed a similar approach, with both batsmen biding their time despite numerous let-offs from the tourists.

‘Luckily you have a guy at the other end that you communicate with,” Elgar said. “Faf and I get along quite well when we have the bat in hand. Don’t get me wrong we also get on well off the field. We have batted a lot together over the last four or five years from SA “A” and in the Test side.  We have had a few substantial partnerships together so we know what to say to each other at the right time.

‘It’s nice to contribute in the manner that has just happened.’

The Proteas will look to follow a similar batting approach to that of SuperSport Park, and will be encouraged by the lively look of the St George’s Park pitch.

“There is a lot of seam movement out there,” Elgar said. “I think if you bowl the ball in the right area with consistency the rewards will be there. The Windies had their opportunities to have us at least five down by the end of play today but luckily we are only two down with a relatively decent score.’

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