No excuses: Proteas were given a ‘proper snot klap’, says coach Conrad

2026-03-05 - 05:53

There were no excuses for their poor performance, according to head coach Shukri Conrad, after South Africa were given a hiding in their T20 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Kolkata on Wednesday. Batting first, the Proteas were restricted to 169/8 after relying on all-rounder Marco Jansen (55 not out off 30 balls) to stand up down the order. In response, the Black Caps were carried by opening batters Finn Allen (100 not out off 33) and Tim Seifert (58 off 33) who took the game away as the New Zealanders coasted to a comfortable nine-wicket victory. “I just don’t think we were good enough on the night,” Conrad admitted afterwards. “Obviously it would have been a nice toss to win, but that’s no excuse. We didn’t post anything close to what would have been competitive... and I thought New Zealand were excellent. “They exploited conditions really well with their spinners up front, and we just never got out the blocks, so full marks to them. They were a helluva lot better than us.” South Africa ‘didn’t have a sniff’ Entering the play-off clash, the Proteas were the only unbeaten team in the tournament, having won seven games on the trot, including a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the group stages. Conrad said he was delighted with their overall performance at the showpiece, but he was disappointed that they didn’t stand up when it counted most. Failing again in their attempt to lift the nation’s first limited overs World Cup trophy, Conrad felt it wasn’t even worth describing the squad as ‘chokers’ because they were never really in the match after they lost two early wickets in the second over of their innings and were left playing catch-up. “I don’t know if tonight was a choke. I thought it was a bloody walloping. We got our arses kicked,” he said. “I think in order for you to choke, you must have had a sniff in the game. We didn’t have a sniff. In South Africa, we would say we got moered. Tonight, we got a proper snot klap.” Proteas players are hurting The head coach didn’t believe there was much he could do to lift the spirits of his team after they crashed out of the competition in spectacular fashion. “The guys will be hurting, and they obviously are, but there’s not a helluva lot (I can say),” Conrad said. “You get judged on World Cups and winning them, but I thought we did some exceptional stuff throughout the tournament, played some really good cricket, and we chose a really crappy time to have a poor night.”