Former Proteas batsman and captain Dean Elgar retired from international cricket in December 2023. This ended a 12-year international career, during which he played 86 Tests and eight ODIs.
Four months since retiring from international cricket, Elgar has joined Essex ahead of the 2024 County Championship in the United Kingdom. He has signed a three-year contract with Essex.
“I made a decision in February 2023 already that I was going to retire at the end of the India series,” Elgar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“My mind was made up long ago about where my future was, or how it looked back home. It’s maybe not looking as rosy as what it should be looking, but I think after serving the Proteas for 12 years, I maybe had that respect to decide how my career’s going to look.
“I always want to play and challenge myself at the highest level, but we didn’t have enough Test matches and that’s where I felt I was actually getting wasted as a person and as a cricketer.
“I saw the writing on the wall a year ago. It’s got nothing to do with the SA20, I think that’s a great tournament for us for SA cricket, because I know it brings in good money. Unfortunately, it does take away international duties. And it’s a balancing act of what the administrators want.
“I am not an administrator, I’m a player. I know what I want as a player. But I’ve also been part of the system in South Africa long enough to get a sense of potentially where things are going.”
Elgar will effectively replace former England captain Alastair Cook at the top of Essex’s batting order. Cook retired from professional cricket at the end of the 2023 County Championship.
“Batting alongside Cook would have been a bit of a dream, but in saying that he’s allowed to make his own decisions and rightly so,” added Elgar.
“I can’t play the way he does. I mean, he’s a ‘Sir’ for a reason. Rightly so and well deserved. But if I could get everything even 80 percent close to what he’s done, I think Essex cricket would be in a good spot.
“Like I’ve said, I’ve always wanted to finish my career playing county cricket. And I want to win trophies, by the way. I play cricket to win. I was born a winner. I don’t play this game to be second-best.”
Elgar will play alongside former Proteas team-mate Simon Harmer at Essex, who compete in division one of the County Championship.
“Me and Harmer have known each other for well over 15 years. Obviously we were team-mates back home when he was in the Proteas squad as well. And the whole conversation came about when we’re having a braai at my house,” concluded Elgar.
“For me that was a direct line of communication. When he heard the prospect of me retiring, he brought it to Essex and spoke to the powers-that-be about what my plans were looking like. It was just an easy, direct conversation to have with him.”