He was disappointed with the overall result, but Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad was pleased to see some players in the under-strength national squad showing good form against Pakistan in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The SA team lost the third and final T20 game against the hosts by four wickets in Lahore on Saturday. After winning the opening fixture earlier in the week convincingly, they had been crushed in the second match.
And while they put up more of a fight on Saturday, Conrad felt the Proteas had been let down again by their top order batters.
“We found ourselves in trouble in both powerplays with the bat (in the last two matches), and obviously when you’re posting 110-140 runs you’re not going to win too many games,” Conrad said.
With some senior players being rested ahead of a tour of India starting later this month, Conrad admitted the second-string Proteas squad had been outplayed in multiple areas.
“The inexperience on our side and the experience on their side was a telling difference,” he said.
“The skillset of their bowlers on these wickets was a lot better and I think that was a massive difference. And no partnerships our side. We didn’t get out the blocks.”
Some positives against Pakistan
The upcoming tour of India was set to include a five-match T20 series next month, and though the Proteas were expected to field a stronger unit, Conrad was relieved to see some of the players in Pakistan sticking up their hands for selection.
That series against India would be their last chance to experiment and decide on the national squad for the T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka in February and March.
“There are a few real positives (to take from the Pakistan series),” Conrad said.
“The form of (all-rounder) Corbin Bosch was really good. You can see how he’s grown over the last 18 months to two years. And guys like (batters) Donovan Ferreira and Dewald Brevis, who remains a bit of an enigma. He (Brevis) is going to break your heart at times but he’s also going to win you the odd game.
“So we’re slowly starting to get the shape for our next T20 series in India, and then soon after that is the World Cup, so we’re a lot closer after this series to what our World Cup squad will potentially look like.”
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