Dean Elgar, the South African Test captain, defended his side against accusations of "unbearable sledging" during the first Test against Bangladesh in Durban on Thursday. Bangladesh's players, he claimed, needed to "harden up" if they wanted to play at a high level.
Elgar said South Africa played the game hard but avoided cursing or using harsh words towards their opponents ahead of the second Test, which begins on Friday at St George's Park. Bangladesh cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus announced on Tuesday that his organisation would file a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council over what he called unfair umpiring and the "sledging" of the home team.
"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.
"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.
"I never complained about sledging. In cricket sledging happens and you have to absorb it," he said.
After recovering from illness, Mominul expressed optimism that opening batsman Tamim Iqbal will be available for the second Test.
Bangladesh would decide whether to play an extra spinner instead of a seam bowler on Friday morning, he said, because the pitch appeared to be dry.