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Cape Town - Proteas opener Dean Elgar believes that South Africa is the toughest place in the world to bat in Test cricket.
The 31-year-old has, over the years, carved out a reputation for himself as one of the grittiest batsman in the world and he showed that once again on day three of the first Test against Pakistan at Centurion.
On an unpredictable wicket that made batting extremely difficult against seam bowling, Elgar took numerous blows to his arms and body as he carded a valuable innings of 50 that, along with Hashim Amla's 63*, saw South Africa over the line.
The Ottis Gibson era has seen South African wickets provide fast-moving Test match - Centurion was over within three days - that provide fast bowlers with significant movement and, sometimes, up and down bounce.
Speaking after the match, Elgar said that he had seen enough in his 52 Test matches to believe that South Africa was now the most challenging place in the world to bat in Test cricket.
"They need to triple my salary, and Aiden's (Markram) as well, because it's hard work in South Africa." he joked, as quoted by Cricinfo.
"It's definitely the toughest place in the world to bat, I can vouch for that now.
"But that's what makes the job so satisfying once you get through the tough times.
"You look back at those tough times and you really enjoy them. The beer tastes a lot better, I can tell you that. It's very rewarding when you get through those tough times."
Elgar averages 40.92 in Test cricket.
