- Proteas Test skipper Dean Elgar has praised national director of cricket Enoch Nkwe for "having cricket at heart" in appointing Malibongwe Maketa as interim red-ball coach.
- The feisty left-hander admits that he lobbied hard for Maketa's inclusion, but believes him getting his way illustrates a promising line of communication.
- Maketa, a former national assistant coach, has brought nous and energy into the setup, says Elgar.
It's still way too early to make any judgements about Enoch Nkwe's fledgling tenure as Cricket South Africa's director of cricket, but Dean Elgar believes he's made a good start.
The Proteas' red-ball skipper showered praise on Nkwe for his decision to appoint Malibongwe Maketa as interim coach for the three-Test tour of Australia - the assignment they departed for on Thursday afternoon - despite the feisty left-hander admitting he had lobbied substantially for his inclusion.
"Mali's been great so far. He's one of the coaches I requested our director of cricket to try and get in as interim coach. I got that right, so that's nice," Elgar said in his typically forthright manner.
Perhaps more importantly, it suggests the lines of communication are, at least for now, in a solid state.
"It's nice to have a director that has cricket at heart and backs the leadership that needs to be backed."
While a white-knuckle trip Down Under has some observers worried that Maketa could be overawed, the 42-year-old was a former assistant national coach under Ottis Gibson and has arguably unparalleled knowledge of the the players of national interest currently on the domestic circuit.
"We've had a lot of good conversations along the way and Mali's been really fighting for us over the past four or five weeks, which is great to see," said Elgar.
"He's obviously coming in as an interim coach and he understands his role, which is going to be supportive."
The duo's previous working relationship is also a bonus.
"He understands me as a cricketer, a person and a leader. The brand of cricket is still going to be the positive cricket that I want us to play. But you've got to have some street smarts when you play in Australia," said Elgar.
"But Mali comes with a lot of experience, he's been around the block for as long as I can remember and comes in with a lot of accolades too at domestic level. He's been involved with a SA A side and knows quite a few of our squad members. It's good to have.
"He brings great energy to the setup."
However, there are, understandably, the spectre of India 2019 floating around, the vaunted trip to the sub-continent that saw a distinctly inexperienced (at international level) Nkwe guide the Proteas in an interim capacity and duly led to a 3-0 series whitewash.
Will Maketa be under the same pressure?
"The environment from that tour has changed drastically. We've tried to keep our core players intact and we've maintained consistency in selection," said Elgar.
"We've gone through a period of transition and blooded a few players and given them exposure. Since 2019, we've evolved immensely and played some good cricket in the Test arena. We're just pushing for the consistency factor."