'Didn’t use foul language. This is Test cricket, Bangladesh batters need to harden up': South Africa captain Dean Elgar

Speaking ahead of the second Test match at St George's Park on Friday, Elgar said South Africa play the game "hard" but none of the players crossed the line.

South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar defended his team after they were accused of going over the board with sledging the Bangladesh players during the first Test in Durban. Bangladesh cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus had said that they are set to lodge an official complaint against the umpiring and the “deplorable sledging” that the Bangladesh players were subjected to in the first Test. Speaking ahead of the second Test match at St George's Park on Friday, Elgar said South Africa play the game "hard" but none of the players crossed the line.

South Africa captain Dean Elgar (AP)

"I don't think they are justified whatsoever," said Elgar. "We play the game hard (but) if anything we were just giving back what we were getting when we were batting.

"This is Test cricket. It's a man's environment when it comes to playing at this level and I intend still to play the game hard.

Elgar said the Bangladesh batters need to "harden up" and prepare for tough battles in Test cricket.

"We don't swear or use foul language towards the Bangladesh batsmen because we still respect them. I think they need to harden up and maybe play the game at a level they're not used to," said Elgar.

The South African captain said the message to his players was: "We do everything with dignity and we don't throw our badge or our name away.

"I honestly didn't see any bad sledging out there, even from their side. I just think this is Test cricket and we need to dry our eyes sometimes."

The umpiring in Durban was in the spotlight with an unusually high number of 21 reviews - 11 by Bangladesh and 10 by South Africa - with four reviews upheld for each team.

South Africans Marais Erasmus and Adrian Holdstock were the men in charge under the ICC's coronavirus restrictions, leading the Bangladeshis to call for neutral umpires.

"The umpiring was tough," said Elgar. "I don't think the wicket helped. There was variable bounce which can challenge the umpires.

"I feel for them because they are good umpires. The human factor needs to be spoken of, they do make errors, as do the players, but I'm pretty sure they're going to learn a lot out of that.

"The umpires make decisions and we need to respect that. The technology is there for a reason. If you don't use the technology you're kind of holding yourself accountable for their decisions as well."

(With AFP inputs)