“Right now, New Zealand are up there with the best in the world – if not the best in the world.
“We want to compare and compete and try and beat the best in the world, for us to be referred [to] as the best in the world.
“But we know there’s still a journey for us. It’s going to be a great contest against a pretty good and pretty strong New Zealand test side.”
Coincidentally, the Blackcaps haven’t been defeated in a home test series since the 2016/17 season – when their conquerors were none other than South Africa.
But despite conflicting reports about the Proteas’ willingness to tour New Zealand under COVID-19 restrictions that will see both tests played behind closed doors at Christchurch, Elgar insists the importance of maintaining the relationship between the two countries is more important.
And if there’s one team that understands the disappointment of a COVID-affected home summer, it’s South Africa – who had both England and Australia walk out on tours at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
In fact, the Blackcaps even reaching the World Test Championship final was only down to Australia’s tour cancellation at the 11th hour.
“Ever since I’ve been around, and I’ve been around for a long time in the Proteas set-up, we’ve always respected New Zealand,” he adds.
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