Elgar believes bowling can aid ODI comeback bid

Fresh off a Man-of-the-Series performance against Sri Lanka, Dean Elgar is eyeing a spot in the one-day set-up with a view to staking a claim for the Champions Trophy and eventually the next World Cup. Although South Africa's fifty-over batting line-up is fairly settled, Rilee Rossouw's exit from the international stage after his Kolpak deal could create an opening, especially if AB de Villiers is unfit.

Rossouw played in all five matches during South Africa's 5-0 whitewash over Australia in October, for which de Villiers was unavailable as he recovered from elbow surgery. De Villiers is expected to be back and to lead the side against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and ultimately the Champions Trophy but South Africa will still be searching for a reserve batsman and Elgar wants to put "both hands and both feet up" in a bid for the job.

"I very much still want to play one-day cricket, and think I have something to offer, especially with my bowling. In Test cricket I can't offer my bowling as I can in white-ball cricket," Elgar said. "I am throwing both hands and both feet up, I want to play one-day cricket. I know opportunities might come with guys leaving and so be it."

Elgar has played six ODIs for South Africa - the first five during their tour to England in 2012 - and the most recent one in India in November 2015 as an injury replacement for JP Duminy. His returns have not been particularly impressive, with 98 runs at 24.50, but he has a much better domestic record to back him up, albeit not a recent one.

International commitments have seen Elgar miss most of the last two season's worth of franchise List A cricket but when he as available in the past, he was an impressive performer. He topped the one-day batting in the 2011-12 season when he scored 567 runs from 10 matches at 81.00, ahead of Faf du Plessis and Colin Ingram. He last played List A cricket in 2016, in the one-day cup. He played three matches for Titans scoring 8, 57 and 37.

"It's difficult when I tour a lot. I've missed two years of domestic one-day cricket so it's difficult to turn out the numbers and stats that people are looking for," he said. "But in saying that I still get to play Test cricket for South Africa which is the format that everyone wants to play. I'm all-in for one-day cricket still."

This season will not be much different. The one-day cup will be played between February 17 and March 31 when then the national team will be in New Zealand. The Test side will only be required from the beginning of March, which could leave Elgar free to play in the early stages of the competition and coach Russell Domingo is keen to see what he can offer.

"Our one-day side is pretty stacked at the moment with Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller - that's probably the top six. Farhaan Behardien is also there. He [Elgar] is definitely an option, particularly in the top three. He has got a good one-day record. He is in the mix, there's no doubt about it. Him and a few other batters, like Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma who got a hundred on one-day debut when he played. There are a few fringe players in the mix and his name is definitely in there."

Elgar has not been included in South Africa's new-look T20 squad to play Sri Lanka next week, despite the selectors search for new faces. De Bruyn is in the side, along with Jon-Jon Smuts, Reeza Hendricks and Heino Kuhn.