ALL-rounder Patrick Kruger impressed with bat and ball for the Proteas against the West Indies. Photo: AFP
SOUTH Africa concluded their trip to the Caribbean with a 3-0 series loss on Tuesday night, but coach Rob Walter was still pleased about exposing a few new faces to international cricket.
It was a second consecutive series whitewash in the Caribbean this year for the Proteas and a third successive T20I series loss to the West Indies.
The visitors lost the first T20I by seven wickets, the second by 30 runs and the rain-affected final match by eight wickets on the DLS method at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago.
Reflecting on the series loss, Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter admitted that the West Indies were just too good in this series.
“It was a tough series for us. The West Indies batted really well. We didn’t get enough runs and we didn’t bowl well enough,” Walter said after Tuesday’s clash.
“All in all, we were put under pressure over three games, and we were not up to the mark.”
While almost all of the players in the visiting team struggled in the scorching heat in Trinidad, 24-year-old Tristan Stubbs enjoyed a lot of success against the Windies’ bowling attack.
Promoted to No.4 in the batting order after spending all of his career at No.6, Stubbs took responsibility and became the stand-out Proteas batter during the series.
The right-hander struck 21 boundaries in the series and put together knocks of 76, 28 and 40 respectively.
Walter praised the youngster, as well as all-rounder Patrick Kruger, for having a solid trip for South Africa.
“Tristan Stubbs stands out in terms of his personal performances with the bat,” said Walter.
“Patrick Kruger, all-round, was a nice find for the tour. He batted well in the first T20I, bowled well across the three games, so it was nice to get him into the team and give him a consistent run.
“We had little bits from each bowler here and there, but we just weren’t able to swing enough consistent performances together,” he added.
Most importantly, despite the result of the series, it is important to remember what Walter had set out to achieve on this tour when he selected an inexperienced squad – to widen the talent pool.
Now, the Proteas T20I group has fringe players who have put the regulars under some form of pressure for spots within the main team.
The T20I outfit now have an 18-year-old left-arm seamer who consistently bowls 140km/h in Kwena Maphaka, a reliable batting all-rounder in Kruger, and a new opening batter in Ryan Rickelton.
“It’s been our second trip to the West Indies where we tried to give some different faces an opportunity against high-quality opposition, which has been great,” said Walter.
“Kwena Maphaka coming into the series and bowling very well in different periods as a young cricketer, it’s been a great experience for him – invaluable really, as it will be for the other new faces in our team.
“Irrespective of the result, it’s a huge win that we’ve been able to give those some exposure, give them a good read in their own personal games as to where they need to look to improve and where they excel.
“From that point of view, we’re very chuffed that the tour was able to deliver that for us.”
The squad returns to South Africa ahead of next week’s Cricket SA awards in Johannesburg.