Shukri Conrad ‘thrilled’ with Proteas despite defeat

Despite slipping at the death, head coach Shukri Conrad was delighted with the under-strength Proteas team for putting up a fight against New Zealand in the T20 International tri-series final in Harare.

Having lost to the Black Caps twice in the round robin phase of the series, the SA team (missing some senior players) looked set to hit back and lift the trophy in the series decider on Saturday.

However, needing seven runs off the last over to lift the trophy, the Proteas lost two wickets for just three runs and were handed a three-run defeat.

“T20 cricket can be quite brutal, and that was a game of millimetres… and at the end of the day it wasn’t meant to be, but we played some really good cricket today,” Conrad said after the game.

“New Zealand have been the class side in the tournament, so hats off to them, but I’m thrilled with the way we played and there are so many good things we can take forward from here.

“While the result is disappointing, there were so many things that happened today that we can be really proud of.”

All-round effort

Conrad was pleased with all aspects of the squad’s performance, praising his players for digging deep with the bat, the ball and in the field.

“On the batting front, we showed our ability to stay in the game, and I thought we took some really good catches,” he said.

“With the bowling, at one stage it looked as if New Zealand would get something in excess of 200 and we pulled that back (to 180), so those are some of the pleasing aspects.

“I’m disappointed because we know it was a game we were in a position to win, and we should have won, but we’ll be better for that experience. Hopefully when we get into tight situations like this again, we’ll get on the right side of the result.”

The next assignment for the Proteas will be Down Under against Australia next month where they play six limited overs matches including three T20 games and three one-day internationals.