Following their One-Day International (ODI) series loss to Afghanistan, Proteas coach Rob Walter said his team were still on the right path.
South Africa restored some pride with a consolation victory in the third ODI in Sharjah on Sunday, but that was after the Proteas were completely outplayed by their opponents in the first two matches to lose the series with a game to spare.
In fact, the series began with South Africa reduced to 36/7 in the first ODI and in the second they collapsed after an opening partnership of 73 to 134 all out.
It was a vastly inexperienced Proteas squad that was used for the series.
Following their One-Day International (ODI) series loss to Afghanistan, Proteas coach Rob Walter said his team were still on the right path.
— IOL Sport (@IOLsport) September 23, 2024
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‘We can only get better’
For the first ODI, the top seven of the Proteas batting line-up, excluding skipper Aiden Markram and opener Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi (6), Tristan Stubbs (2), Kyle Verreynne (13), Jason Smith (1) and Wiaan Mulder (16) had 38 caps between them. That’s including the match against Afghanistan, in which Smith was making his debut.
Still, it would have come as a shock that the Proteas were not even close to competitive in the batting department in the first two clashes.
“I think obviously the series result is disappointing, in particular the first two games, where we have exposed some of our depth and fringe players to play for South Africa. Ultimately, we can only get better if we are exposed to conditions and these were tough ones,” said Walter.
“Hopefully this is just the catalyst to us getting better and the depth getting stronger.”
Asked if his side had a problem with spin, Walter dodged the question to a degree, citing the fact that the Proteas had been strong in that department over the last few years. However, most of those players who are responsible for the Proteas strength against the ‘tweakers’, like Heinrich Klaasen, were not chosen for this series.
“I think if you look at the stats over the last couple of years, our players have actually been up there with the best in the world.
“You’ve got a group of players who have played a lot of cricket together for South Africa and experienced players who have ultimately been the bedrock of the batting line-up, and so now we've got different players who are stepping into that space and obviously working hard to become better at playing spinners.”