(Cricket news) The South African legend and former South African opener Elgar joins Essex county for the county season. Essex has confirmed his signing as an overseas player under a three year contract.

Elgar has retired from test cricket in the recently concluded series against India after playing a total of 86 Tests for the Proteas. Essex was looking for a player to replace Alaistar Cook and hence have signed Elgar who will perfectly fill in the hole as an opener for the side, given the experience he holds.

Elgar had been an integral part of the South African team over the years and has also captained the Proteas in 18 Tests. He had a pretty good record in his long test career having scored 5347 runs at an average of 37.65 in his 86 appearances. However, with South Africa having scheduled very little Test cricket over the next two years, he had been informed by red-ball coach Shukri Conrad that he was not part of the team’s long-term plans.

Elgar has previously had stints in the County championships have played for Somerset and Surrey, he will now move to the Essex squad to play along with his international team-mate Simon Harmer, the spinner who has been a key part of Essex’s success in recent years.

“I’m thrilled to embark on this new chapter of my cricketing journey with Essex,” Elgar said. “The club have been pushing for honours in recent years and I’m eager to contribute to further success.

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