Seniors let Proteas down as they slump to T20 series loss

The Proteas slumped to a disappointing T20 series loss against England on Sunday.

And the irony of this 19-run defeat in Cardiff was the fact that South Africa can’t really point to their inexperienced side being to blame.

In fact, virtually all of the rookies delivered some decent individual performances.

The biggest star was Cobras seamer Dane Paterson, who produced an outstanding spell of four for 32.

Bowling with control and variation, the 28-year-old came back from a difficult first two overs – where he conceded 24 runs – to take 4/8 at the death.

It was a wonderful exhibition and certainly will see Paterson’s stock rise.

Due to his intervention, England were limited to 181/8 after they were 166/3 in the 18th over.

Dawid Malan, who was born in the UK but went to school in South Africa, was the mainstay of the innings with a splendid 78 off 42 balls.

It was a stylish effort that included 12 fours and two sixes.

The Proteas were never really in the chase, though the newer members also made their mark.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mangaliso Mosehle smacked four huge sixes in an aggressive 36 off 22 while Andile Phehlukwayo tried gamely in his unbeaten 27.

Jon-Jon Smuts wasn’t fluent in his 29 but he tried.

Instead, the Proteas were badly served by their admittedly small group of senior players.

Skipper AB de Villiers had a promising 35 off 19 cut short when he found the man on the boundary but the rest of the experienced men didn’t turn up.

Farhaan Behardien and David Miller made 3 and 7 respectively, while Imran Tahir conceded close to 10 an over and Morne Morkel looked unthreatening.

It’s not a recipe for success.

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