South Africa were handed a humiliating defeat in the third ODI at Southampton, as England thrashed them by a massive 342 runs. The Proteas had already sealed the three-match series 2-0, their first ODI series win in England since 1998, but their final outing left coach Shukri Conrad and captain Temba Bavuma deeply disappointed.
Conrad did not hold back in his post-match assessment, calling the display “embarrassing.”
“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,” Conrad admitted. “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.”
The biggest concerns came in South Africa’s bowling and fielding. The visitors conceded 19 wides, dropped two key catches, and allowed England to post a towering total of over 400.
Conrad was blunt in his evaluation: “The bowling affects the fielding and the other way around… All in all, yeah, it was an embarrassing performance in the field.”
Individually, it was a night to forget for the Proteas bowlers. Nandre Burger returned figures of none for 95—the costliest spell in South Africa’s ODI history—while debutant Codi Yusuf also went wicketless, conceding 80 runs. In contrast, Jofra Archer ripped through the South African lineup with a devastating spell of 4 for 18. The Proteas were bundled out for just 72, their second-lowest ODI total.
Reflecting on the batting collapse, Conrad summed it up with a simple observation: “Aiden lost his wicket to a pretty innocuous delivery, and that probably summed up the day.”
Despite the heavy defeat, captain Bavuma urged his side not to dwell too much on the setback.
“There are shining moments, so we’ll try to highlight those. They can’t be wiped away by one performance,” Bavumasaid.
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