Elgar primed for Surrey stint

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Surrey County Cricket Club have announced the capture of in-form Proteas opener Dean Elgar as overseas player for April and May.

Elgar will report to the Oval ahead of Surrey’s County Championship opener against Hampshire on 20 April.

He will be available for much of the first two months of the season before leaving to prepare for the Proteas tour of Sri Lanka.

The top order batsman will be unavailable for the red ball clash with Worcestershire next month due to a pre-arranged commitment but could feature in all of the other eight competitive matches scheduled before the end of May.

This will be Elgar’s second spell with Surrey, having made three appearances for the club in 2015. He also enjoyed two stays at Somerset in 2013 and 2017.

Elgar replaces Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh in the Surrey squad after the Aussie broke down at the end of the series against South Africa.

Upon signing for the club, Elgar stated: “I am really grateful for the opportunity to be back at Surrey for the start of the summer. I hope to contribute for the period I am at the club, on and off the field, and I’m looking forward to seeing all involved at the great club again.”

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Surrey Director of Cricket Alec Stewart added: “Given the news that Mitch Marsh will need ankle surgery, to be able to bring someone of Dean’s calibre to the club, at such short notice, for the first period of the season is a real bonus.

“We know Dean well after his time with us in 2015 and his international quality and experience will be a real asset. We look forward to welcoming him to the Kia Oval.”

Elgar has been a paragon of consistency and gritty determination for South Africa over the last 24 months establishing himself as the first choice opener and rising to eighth in the ICC Test rankings.

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