In the final ODI of the three-match series against England, South Africa’s head coach Shukri Conrad said that he was “slightly embarrassed” by his team’s performance. South Africa lost the last match by a record 342-run margin after winning the first two ODIs to take an unbeatable lead in the series.
Shukri Conrad emphasised the value of being “on top of your game” and said that the South African team’s batting performance in the last match exposed them.
“Any excuse is preferable to none at all. Today was undoubtedly a day off. And you do get exposed when you’re not playing at your best against a top team like England. Similar circumstances occurred in Australia, when a 2-0 lead turned out to be a total anomaly. They also received more than 400,” ESPNcricinfo cited Shukri Conrad as saying.
However, Shukri Conrad was glad that the performance took place in a dead rubber rather than during the live series. He did, however, reiterate how crucial the loss was.
However, we would prefer to be bad in games that aren’t clutch games if we were going to be bad at anything. We’re not laughing at our loss today. That was a little awkward. The fielding wasn’t up to the typical high standard that we set, and I’m not saying that as an excuse because it shouldn’t be that way. Overall, he said, “yes, it was a humiliating performance in the field.”
Shukri Conrad also gave an update on Kagiso Rabada, who missed all of the ODI matches against England due to a protracted recuperation from an ankle ailment.
“Our top priority is the T20. With the T20 World Cup approaching, we want to make sure that we get a good perspective on it, so when we gained the right to give him another rest, we obviously used it. “Obviously, we have two important Test series [against India and Pakistan] coming up,” he continued.
From September 10 to September 14, South Africa will play England in three Twenty20 Internationals. After playing a one-off Twenty20 International against Namibia, they will go to Pakistan for an all-format series that consists of three Twenty20 Internationals, two Test matches, and three One-Day Internationals.
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