Following the defeat, head coach Shukri Conrad expressed his disappointment, calling the performance 'slightly embarrassing'. He also drew parallels to a similar collapse against Australia, where the Proteas had lost by 276 runs after taking a 2–0 lead in that series
Shukri Conrad (Pic: X/@ICC)
South Africa on Sunday suffered a humiliating loss by a massive margin of 342 runs in the third ODI against England at The Rose Bowl.
Following the defeat, head coach Shukri Conrad expressed his disappointment, calling the performance 'slightly embarrassing'. He also drew parallels to a similar collapse against Australia, where the Proteas had lost by 276 runs after taking a 2–0 lead in that series.
"Any excuse is better than none. We were definitely off today. And against a top side like England, when you're not on top of your game, you do get exposed. A similar thing happened in Australia, where after going 2-0 up, it was a complete aberration," Conrad was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"They got in excess of 400 as well. But if we were going to be poor at something, we'd rather be poor at games that aren't clutch games. We're not making light of today's defeat. That was slightly embarrassing," he added.
Conrad also highlighted the team’s poor performance in the field, admitting that South Africa’s fielding fell well below their usual standards.
"The bowling affects the fielding and the other way around, but nine out of ten times, Matthew Breetzke is taking that catch [off Smith, who offered a chance off a leading edge in the covers]," he said.
"We're not going to read too much into that, but it's a difficult one because when that edge is not there and something doesn't go your way and the harder you try, it's just not there. I'm not offering it as an excuse because it's not supposed to be like that, but the fielding wasn't at the usual high standard that we set. All in all, yeah, it was an embarrassing performance in the field," added the 58-year-old former cricketer.
In the first innings, England posted a massive total of 414/5, with Joe Root and Jacob Bethell smashing blistering centuries. Jamie Smith and Jos Buttler also chipped in with half-centuries.
For South Africa, Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj claimed two wickets each.
Chasing an improbable target, the Proteas' innings folded for just 72 runs in 20.5 overs. Bosch (2), Maharaj (17), and Tristan Stubbs (10) were the top scorers in an otherwise dismal batting display.
Jofra Archer starred with the ball, picking up a four-wicket haul for just 18 runs in nine overs. Adil Rashid claimed 3/13 in 3.5 overs, while Brydon Carse returned figures of 2/33 from six overs.
(With ANI inputs)
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