‘No excuses’: Second-string Proteas eager to hit back against Black Caps

2026-03-21 - 11:00

Despite playing with a second-string side, captain Keshav Maharaj says the Proteas can’t make excuses and need to step up in the fourth T20 International against New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday (8.15am start). The SA team won the opening game of the five-match series, but the hosts hit back to secure convincing wins in the next two fixtures, taking a 2-1 lead with two matches to play. While the 15-man national squad travelled to New Zealand with five uncapped players, with a long list of senior stars being rested, Maharaj felt they could be better. “We are a young side but we’re not making excuses. We want to take the lessons quicker,” said Maharaj, standing in for regular Proteas T20 skipper Aiden Markram. “The beauty of this series is that we’ve still got a chance to make a comeback, and we want to be more clinical with bat and ball in the next game.” Black Caps resting senior players With New Zealand making changes to their squad for the last two matches of the series, Maharaj said the Proteas needed to take advantage, with experienced players Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway and regular captain Mitchell Santner all being rested. The skipper, however, said the tourists still needed to hit their straps if they hoped to level the series against their hosts this weekend and keep themselves in the hunt for a series win. “Three big players in Lockie, Dev and Mitch (will be missing) so hopefully we can see some positives from that, but I think it’s about focusing on ourselves and how we’re going to go about our games,” Maharaj said. “I think as much as the opposition will change, we’re still searching for that template as to how we go about our business... we really need to find a way to combat these bowlers and adapt to the conditions sooner rather than later.”