’Our intensity was lacking’ - Frustrated Dean Elgar is searching for answers after Proteas terrible display

Johannesburg - Dean Elgar bemoaned a lack of intensity from his players following South Africa’s embarrassing first Test defeat to New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Saturday.

The Proteas suffered its second heaviest defeat by an innings ever, going down by an innings and 276 runs. Following the euphoria in the wake of defeating India just over a month ago, this was a loss that will bring the players back down to earth with a shuddering thump. It was almost inexplicable and Elgar admitted he was having a hard time wrapping his head around how his team performed.

“Our intensity was lacking in the last two and a bit days. When our intensity is high and we are operating at a certain level, we compete and give ourselves a chance of a victory. Why we were lacking intensity is something that I’m still processing. I was even trying to process it (Friday) night, and still haven’t come to anything yet,” he said.

“We were totally outplayed by a classy New Zealand outfit in all three departments of the game.”

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South Africa scored a grand total of 206 runs in the match, with Temba Bavuma’s 41 in the second innings the highest score by a Proteas batter.

In the field South Africa dropped seven catches, two of which saw Henry Nicholls let off on five and 23, allowing him to register an eighth Test century, which provided the backbone for New Zealand’s big first innings total of 482.

The bowling was poor as well, and despite the absence of Lungi Ngidi, the lack of control throughout New Zealand’s innings was alarming. “It’s extremely frustrating being a captain and the ball is being hit both sides of the wicket. You can’t set a field for that.