Eng vs SA, 2nd Test, Old Trafford - South Africa middle order 'under pressure' to score runs

South Africa's middle-order batters are "under pressure" to score runs at Old Trafford after none of them got an individual score over 25 at Lord's. While Test captain Dean Elgar supports backing the same batters who did duty in the first Test, he acknowledged that there needs to be more runs from them if South Africa are to play to their full potential.

"As long as we are still getting the results on our side, backing is extremely important for those guys. We have given them a decent run of late and I am sure they know they are under pressure to perform," Elgar said. "They are proper batters. They are here for a reason.

"If they are firing in the middle order and we conduct ourselves like we have been doing of late, our Test side can only grow. But they are here, they are being backed. I don't see a change. Consistency is key to success, and even consistency in selection. It's a tough series playing against England away from home. You need to back your horses that you've been backing for a while now."

South Africa have opted for Aiden Markram at No.4, Rassie van der Dussen at No.5 and Kyle Verreynne (who batted lower at Lord's after his grandfather took ill in the stands) at No.6. Between them, they scored 46 runs and, with Test vice-captain Temba Bavuma due to return from an elbow injury later in the year, could end up competing for two spots. The choice could become between Markram and van der Dussen, who have both had lean runs, and who selection convener Victor Mpitsang is particularly concerned about. Earlier in the week, Mptisang told South African media: "If they are putting up big numbers, and contributing it would help the conversation around them."

Markram has only recently moved into the No.4 role after effectively being dropped as an opener in New Zealand following a poor run. He had scored 140 runs at 15.56 in five Tests before that. But, Keegan Petersen contracted Covid-19 and missed the trip, which opened up a spot for Markram to bat at No.3. He scored 76 runs in four innings on that tour and 16 runs at No.4 at Lord's. Van der Dussen has done better, but only slightly. He has scored 233 runs in his last six Tests at 23.30 and has not scored a half-century since his unbeaten 75 in West Indies last year.

Verreynne is the player with a lot more slack. Not only is he the wicketkeeper and likely to be in that role for the long haul but he is one of only four South African batters to score a century in their last 11 Tests. His only serious competitor at the moment is Ryan Rickelton, though he is not thought to be South Africa's first-choice gloveman. While South Africa have won eight of those matches, they remain concerned with the line-up, especially in difficult conditions.

Though he has not said it outright, that was one of the reasons Elgar chose to bowl in cloudy, humid conditions at Lord's, even though he is usually a bat-first captain. England are expecting Old Trafford to present more challenges for batters with Ben Stokes explaining Ollie Robinson's selection as being due to extra pace and bounce in Manchester.

Elgar brushed that off as tactical talk, and, as he so often does, leaned on South Africa's stronger suit to counter that. "I love the mind games," he said. "If there is going to be extra pace and bounce, I am pretty sure our fast bowlers will extract it."

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Global water crisis activist runs 78th marathon in Istanbul

Australian runner Mina Guli aspires to convince 200 countries by the start of the UN World Conference in March 2023 to take concrete action to address the global water crisis.

“Every one of us has the power to work together to solve it. Individually, you can make an impact, but together, we can change the world,” activist Mina Guli said. (Elif Öztürk Özgöncü / AA)

An Australian activist, who set out to run 200 marathons to draw attention to global water shortages that are increasing with climate change, has run her 78th marathon race in Istanbul. “We’re literally in the middle of a massive water problem of a water crisis around the world,” Guli said on Sunday about her “Run Blue” campaign to raise awareness about the water footprint. Starting her first marathon in her home country on March 22, World Water Day, Mina Guli, 52, set foot in the Turkish metropolis to start the European leg of her campaign after completing marathons in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Türkiye’s Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) in the central province of Konya. “Unfortunately, for most people it is hidden, but I’ve seen it and I want the world to see it, too,” she said. Guli pointed out that companies are responsible for almost 90 percent of the world’s water use, directly or indirectly, and she aspires to convince 200 countries to take concrete action or “Run Blue” by completing the marathons by the start of the UN World Conference in March 2023. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kqd6aFDNEQ[/embed] 'Failure isn't an option' Guli underlined that with accelerating climate change, the global water crisis requires urgent action. “We cannot hope anymore. Now we need to make things happen. We’re beyond the time of hope. We are into the time of opportunity for change because frankly, failure isn’t an option. We don’t have a planet B,” she said.  Two months earlier, Guli ran a marathon in the Aral Sea, the fourth largest lake in the world, 90 percent of which has dried up due to water that has not been replenished and increasing temperatures. WATCH: Scientists say Europe's drought will be worst in 500 years "I thought to myself for 30 years scientists told us that this lake would dry up and we just ignored them. People told us that Lake Urmia would dry up and we ignored them,” she continued. “Now people are telling us that the Salt Lake in the US is going to dry up and we're ignoring them, too. We see the rivers in Europe drying up. We see the lakes drying up. Lake Tuz has dried up because of climate change and also because of the diversion of the inbound rivers,” she said. “So we need to find a way to ensure that these warnings are not ignored anymore.” 2023 UN Water Conference Emphasising that the issue “has been swept under the rug or it's been forgotten about or deprioritised” for more than 50 years, Guli said the Water Conference “is a really great opportunity for us to use as a catalytic moment to drive change by governments, companies and all of us as individuals.” “We have an opportunity now over the next few months to show our leaders in government in the halls of power, in the boardrooms that we need them to do more." READ MORE: Wildfires ravaged US states get flash flood warning Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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