Mathews calls on batsmen to ape Elgar’s patient approach

Angelo Mathews has called on his batsmen to take a cue from Dean Elgar on how to bat in seaming conditions. Sri Lanka were blown away in the Newlands Test, losing by 282 runs by lunch on the fourth day.

Sri Lanka were dismissed for 110 in the first innings, and 224 in the second. In comparison, Elgar’s match aggregate was 184 – 129 of those runs coming in the first innings, when the green Newlands pitch was at its freshest.

“Elgar left a lot of balls, and the way he batted is a lesson to learn for all of us,” Mathews said. “Yes, it was never going to be easy on that wicket. It had a little bit of bounce and pace and seam. But as an opener, Elgar has left a lot of balls. He has scored whatever he gets off his legs. He’s keeping it pretty simple. He has made us work extremely hard for his wicket and he’s been in good rhythm.”

Disappointingly for Sri Lanka, six of the top seven were guilty of getting out playing expansive strokes on what was quite obviously a seamers’ deck. Four of the top seven fell playing attacking strokes in the first innings, and six of the top seven fell that way in the second. Kaushal Silva was the only batsman who was out playing two defensive shots. Indiscipline had plagued Sri Lanka’s batting at Port Elizabeth as well.

“It’s disappointing to repeat the same mistakes over two Test matches,” Mathews said. “You need long hours of concentration against a quality attack like South Africa. They give you a very rare loose ball, and if you …

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