Conrad insists Bavuma's Proteas promotion doesn't make Elgar a bad captain

Temba Bavuma's promotion from Proteas Test deputy to sheriff, along with Dean Elgar's consequent demotion, is in no way an issue of one player's leadership capabilities being better than the other.

New national red-ball coach Shukri Conrad made that fact plainly clear following Friday's confirmation of the new captaincy structure ahead of the two-Test series against the West Indies starting at the end of the month.

Speculation had been rife that Bavuma was a shoo-in for the role over the past few weeks though it's still notable that as recently as the build-up to the taxing tour to Australia, Elgar had expressed his enthusiasm for moulding a unit according to his vision.

The feisty left-hander has led the Proteas to an improved, creditable fourth on the World Test Championship (WTC) table, but with the current cycle essentially done and dusted, Conrad has understandably adopted a long-term view.    

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"I really want to pay my respect to Dean. He's done an exceptional job over the past few years, and in my conversations with him, that's a fact I made very clear to him," he said.

"This was pretty much my decision. I felt that Temba and I are a really good fit. Dean's still going to play a huge role in our leadership group. This is not about Temba being a good captain and Dean being a bad captain.

"I just felt this structure is the right fit for us going forward."

Enoch Nkwe, Cricket South Africa's ethereally diplomatic director of cricket, also sought to quell any cynical judgements over the move, particularly a perception of a quid pro quo whereby Bavuma was handed the Test role in exchange for giving up the T20 captaincy.  

"I