Ex-South Africa captain Elgar announces retirement

Essex batter and former South Africa captain Dean Elgar has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old has opened the batting in all nine of Essex's County Championship matches this year as they sit seventh in Division One.

He scored 92 and an unbeaten 107 against former club Surrey earlier this season as the match ended in a draw at The Oval.

"I feel it's the right time for me now. I'm not getting any younger, 39 years old, and I've got a lot of things going on back home with regards to a young but growing-up-very-quickly family," Elgar told Essex's website., external

"It's the right time for me now to be present at home and be there for my partner and my kids."

The left-hander represented his country for over 11 years and scored 14 centuries and 23 half-centuries, amassing a total of 5,347 runs in 86 Tests, having made his debut in November 2012 against Australia at The Waca where he made two ducks.

Elgar has shown his run-scoring prowess in all formats of the game, scoring 2,594 runs in 104 T20 matches, and a massive 18,981 runs in 279 first class matches.

He scored his maiden Test century in January 2013 against New Zealand, hitting 103 not out, and struck a century in Galle the following year as South Africa claimed victory against Sri Lanka.

He carried his bat three times during his Test career, scoring an unbeaten 141 against Australia in 2018 in Cape Town as South Africa romped home to a 322-run win. Elgar is the only batsman to carry his bat in an innings of a Test match twice in a single calendar year, having achieved the feat against India two months earlier.

He stood in as captain of South Africa during the Pakistan series of early 2019 after Faf du Plessis was penalised for a slow over rate and eventually became his country's Test captain on a full-time basis two years later following Quinton de Kock's resignation.

As captain, Elgar was unable to prevent England from coming from behind to win a three-match series against South Africa 2-1 in 2022 but scored 185 against India the following year in a seven-wicket victory which drew that two-match series level.

He announced his retirement from international cricket in January 2024 and, after two separate spells at Surrey, joined Essex on a three-year deal.

Chris Silverwood, Essex director of cricket said Elgar's career would be defined by "longevity, resilience and deep commitment to cricket".

"With a career spanning more than two decades, his reputation as a senior, experienced opening batter has made him an extremely important figure during his time at Essex, particularly in helping develop the club's younger players.

"For Essex, his time was more than simply scoring runs. We had a player with international experience at Test level, proven credentials and an old-school appetite for occupying the crease, coupled with a hunger for victory.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to have had him in my team."

Elgar is available for Essex's final five County Championship matches of the season which begin with a home game against Surrey at Chelmsford, starting on Thursday [11:00 BST].