Dean Elgar joins Desmond Haynes; 2nd cricketer to carry bat thrice
Elgar joins Haynes; 2nd cricketer to carry bat thrice
Dean Elgar has his way of piling runs on the board. He is tentative starter who often gets beaten in the early overs. His bat turns in his hand at times, but he manages to check his shot at the last moment to surpass the slips. In addition, he cops nasty blows and looks uncomfortable for most parts. Nonetheless, what he does best is to move on quickly despite all hindrances and apply his mind fully while taking guard for the next ball. As a result, Elgar became the first South African, and only second overall, to carry his bat thrice in Test cricket. Elgar joins Desmond Haynes in this rare feat. Elgar got to the personal milestone, courtesy an unbeaten 141, during Day Two of the third Test versus Australia at Cape Town.
| Player | Runs | Total | % | Team | Against | Venue | Season | Runs | Count |
| Bernard Tancred | 26* | 47 | 55.3% | South Africa | England | Newlands | 1888-89 | 26 | 1 |
| Jack Barrett | 67* | 176 | 38.1% | Australia | England | Lord’s | 1890 | 67 | 1 |
| Bobby Abel | 132* | 307 | 43.0% | England | Australia | SCG | 1891-92 | 132 | 1 |
| Plum Warner | 132* | 237 | 55.7% | England | South Africa | Old Wanderers | 1898-99 | 132 | 1 |
| Warwick Armstrong | 159* | 309 | 51.5% | Australia | South Africa | Old Wanderers | 1902-03 | 159 | 1 |
| Billy Zulch | 43* | 103 | 41.7% | South Africa | England | Newlands | 1909-10 | 43 | 1 |
| Warren Bardsley | 193* | 383 | 50.4% | Australia | England | Lord’s | 1926 | 193 | 1 |
| Bill Woodfull | 30* | 66 | 45.5% | Australia | England | Exhibition Ground, Brisbane | 1928-29 | 30 | 1 |
| Bill Woodfull | 73* | 193 | 37.8% | Australia | England | Adelaide Oval | 1932-33 | 73 | 2 |
| Bill Brown | 206* | 422 | 48.8% | Australia | England | Lord’s | 1938 | 206 | 1 |
| Len Hutton | 202* | 344 | 58.7% | England | West Indies | The Oval | 1950 | 202 | 1 |
| Len Hutton | 156* | 272 | 57.4% | England | Australia | Adelaide Oval | 1950-51 | 156 | 2 |
| Nazar Mohammad | 124* | 331 | 37.5% | Pakistan | India | University Ground, Lucknow | 1952-53 | 124 | 1 |
| Frank Worrell | 191* | 372 | 51.3% | West Indies | England | Trent Bridge | 1957 | 191 | 1 |
| Trevor Goddard | 56* | 99 | 56.6% | South Africa | Australia | Newlands | 1957-58 | 56 | 1 |
| Jackie McGlew | 127* | 292 | 43.5% | South Africa | New Zealand | Kingsmead | 1961-62 | 127 | 1 |
| Conrad Hunte | 60* | 131 | 45.8% | West Indies | Australia | Queen’s Park Oval | 1964-65 | 60 | 1 |
| Glenn Turner | 43* | 131 | 32.8% | New Zealand | England | Lord’s | 1969 | 43 | 1 |
| Bill Lawry | 49* | 107 | 45.8% | Australia | India | Kotla | 1969-70 | 49 | 1 |
| Bill Lawry | 60* | 116 | 51.7% | Australia | England | SCG | 1970-71 | 60 | 2 |
| Glenn Turner | 223* | 386 | 57.8% | New Zealand | West Indies | Sabina Park | 1971-72 | 223 | 2 |
| Ian Redpath | 159* | 346 | 46.0% | Australia | New Zealand | Eden Park | 1973-74 | 159 | 1 |
| Geoff Boycott | 99* | 215 | 46.0% | England | Australia | WACA | 1979-80 | 99 | 1 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 127* | 286 | 44.4% | India | Pakistan | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | 1982-83 | 127 | 1 |
| Mudassar Nazar | 152* | 323 | 47.1% | Pakistan | India | Gaddafi | 1982-83 | 152 | 1 |
| Sidath Wettimuny | 63* | 144 | 43.8% | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | Lancaster Park | 1982-83 | 63 | 1 |
| David Boon | 58* | 103 | 56.3% | Australia | New Zealand | Eden Park | 1985-86 | 58 | 1 |
| Desmond Haynes | 88* | 211 | 41.7% | West Indies | Pakistan | Karachi | 1986-87 | 88 | 1 |
| Graham Gooch | 154* | 252 | 61.1% | England | West Indies | Headingley | 1991 | 154 | 1 |
| Desmond Haynes | 75* | 176 | 42.6% | West Indies | England | The Oval | 1991 | 75 | 2 |
| Alec Stewart | 69* | 175 | 39.4% | England | Pakistan | Lord’s | 1992 | 69 | 1 |
| Desmond Haynes | 143* | 382 | 37.4% | West Indies | Pakistan | Queen’s Park Oval | 1992-93 | 143 | 3 |
| Mark Dekker | 68* | 187 | 36.4% | Zimbabwe | Pakistan | Rawalpindi | 1993-94 | 68 | 1 |
| Michael Atherton | 94* | 228 | 41.2% | England | New Zealand | Lancaster Park | 1996-97 | 94 | 1 |
| Gary Kirsten | 100* | 239 | 41.8% | South Africa | Pakistan | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | 1997-98 | 100 | 1 |
| Mark Taylor | 169* | 350 | 48.3% | Australia | South Africa | Adelaide Oval | 1997-98 | 169 | 1 |
| Grant Flower | 156* | 321 | 48.6% | Zimbabwe | Pakistan | Bulawayo | 1997-98 | 156 | 1 |
| Saeed Anwar | 188* | 316 | 59.5% | Pakistan | India | Eden Gardens | 1998-99 | 188 | 1 |
| Marvan Atapattu | 216* | 428 | 50.5% | Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 1999-00 | 216 | 1 |
| Russel Arnold | 104* | 231 | 45.0% | Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe | Harare | 1999-00 | 104 | 1 |
| Javed Omar | 85* | 168 | 50.6% | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 2000-01 | 85 | 1 |
| Virender Sehwag | 201* | 329 | 61.1% | India | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2008 | 201 | 1 |
| Simon Katich | 131* | 268 | 48.9% | Australia | New Zealand | The Gabba | 2008-09 | 131 | 1 |
| Chris Gayle | 165* | 317 | 52.1% | West Indies | Australia | Adelaide Oval | 2009-10 | 165 | 1 |
| Imran Farhat | 117* | 223 | 52.5% | Pakistan | New Zealand | Napier | 2009-10 | 117 | 1 |
| Rahul Dravid | 146* | 300 | 48.7% | India | England | The Oval | 2011 | 146 | 1 |
| Tino Mawoyo | 163* | 412 | 39.6% | Zimbabwe | Pakistan | Bulawayo | 2011 | 163 | 1 |
| David Warner | 123* | 233 | 52.8% | Australia | New Zealand | Bellerive Oval | 2011-12 | 123 | 1 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 145* | 312 | 46.5% | India | Sri Lanka | SSC | 2015 | 145 | 1 |
| Dean Elgar | 118* | 214 | 55.1% | South Africa | England | Kingsmead | 2015-16 | 118 | 1 |
| Kraigg Brathwaite | 142* | 337 | 42.1% | West Indies | Pakistan | Sharjah | 2015-16 | 142 | 1 |
| Alastair Cook | 244* | 491 | 49.7% | England | Australia | MCG | 2017-18 | 244 | 1 |
| Dean Elgar | 86* | 177 | 48.6% | South Africa | India | New Wanderers | 2017-18 | 86 | 2 |
| Dean Elgar | 141* | 311 | 100.0% | South Africa | Australia | Newlands | 2017-18 | 311 | 3 |
Elgar scored 45.3 per cent of runs during South Africa‘s 311 in the ongoing Cape Town Test. He added two vital stands with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. The striking fact of his innings was that he found the middle of the bat since the beginning, and looked swifter — even more than de Villiers. From 254 for 7, Elgar’s stubborn resistance pushed the total beyond 300.
Earlier, Elgar had carried his bat against England (in 2017) and India (in January). Before him, Haynes had achieved this feat; twice against Pakistan and once versus England. The ones who have attained this feat twice are Glenn Turner, Bill Lawry, Bill Woodfull and Len Hutton.
Elgar’s quote before the ongoing Test
“It’s been a little bit frustrating. I actually feel that I’m batting nicely. I’m getting through all the tough parts and I’m letting myself down with silly, stupid and uncharacteristic kind of dismissals,” Elgar told ESPNCricinfo.
Quite a turnaround, right?