Elgar hails brilliant Proteas pace attack: 'They can get much better'

Proteas skipper Dean Elgar believes his bowling attack will only improve ahead of Thursday's second Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.

South Africa lead the three-match Test series 1-0 thanks to a superb bowling display in the opening Test at Lord's.

Last week, the Proteas needed less than 83 overs to capture all 20 wickets as they beat the hosts by an innings and 12 runs.

The majority of the damage was done by the pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen. Rabada was awarded Player of the Match as he captured 5 for 52 and 2 for 27.

Elgar warned that their in-form pace attack could get even better in Manchester this week. 

"I reckon they can get much better. They're still pretty fresh, which is a nice thing to have from my part. They had a brilliant game, the wicket assisted them at Lord's, but they had to put the ball in the right area and done that," Elgar told reporters on Wednesday.

"Our bowlers are leading our pack at the moment and they're extremely hungry for success. The competition amongst them is brilliant and just the way they go about things is some of the most professional behaviour I've seen from fast bowlers. It's a great asset to have and you don't have to speak to them too much, they just know what they have to do.

"They've been around the international scene for quite some time and know this is a really tough series. They've known what we've done in the past but there's a lot of learnings from that, but they know they've got to bring the intensity and heat again.

"But it might be different here where the wicket might not suit them ... we might have to adapt to the conditions in front of us."

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