Dean Elgar admits temptations ahead of second Australia test

South Africa suffered a six-wicket defeat in the opening clash at The Gabba, which last just two days as pitch conditions affected both sides' batting efforts.

While much has already been said of how the pitch affected the team's performance, Elgar is keen to bring Titans teammate Theunis de Bruyne into the line-up to beef up the batting options.

However, he remains reluctant to drop spinner Keshav Maharaj for a potential split of seven specialist batters and four pace bowlers, who had plenty of joy in Brisbane.

"The option of seven batters, four seamers was very much a talking point but I like having a specialised spinner. We didn't even get to day three, let alone day four and five when the wickets most probably are going to spin, so Kesh's [Maharaj] role was kind of nullified by the game ending in two days," argued the skipper.

"So, I'm still very much a captain who wants a spinner because he gives us a lot of control and he allows our seamers to have that extra break, where you can rotate them from the one end [rather than both] - it's tough to rotate seamers in a four-seven split.

"Again, all options are on the table going into the next one. I think you have to be open-minded because you have to make the right decision for what you feel is necessary at that point in time or for that specific game.

"De Bruyne is the next batter in, he's massively in a great space – I know because I'm his teammate back home as well, so I know he's got a lot of confidence, he's scored runs back home and he's scored in the warm-up game, which is great, so I know he's a guy we can bring in that can give us that extra boost."

SA will need to ensure victory to keep their series hopes alive ahead of the final Test of the three-match series set for Sydney in the New Year.