Captain Quinton de Kock lamented another poor performance from the Proteas, as Australia sealed a convincing 97-run victory in Wednesday’s third and final T20I at Newlands in Cape Town.

The result completed a 2-1 series win for Australia. They had won the first T20I at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, too. The Proteas triumphed in the second at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.

This time, the hosts were limited to 96 all out – a second total of under 100 for the series.

‘It’s just another blowout. Obviously it’s not good enough doing it twice in one series. We are going to have to have a good look at ourselves and ask some honest questions,’ said De Kock.

The South African batsmen were particularly poor against spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar. The wrist-spinner and left-arm finger-spinner shared 13 wickets throughout the three matches.

READ: Aussies win again at Newlands

‘I don’t think it’s a technical thing. It can boil down to situations in the game. Or it could also be a confidence thing, I am not sure. I am not in the other batsmen’s minds. We’ve got some really good players of spin. But, in saying that, their two spinners bowled really well. They didn’t give much away,’ added De Kock.

The hosts played the series decider without veteran Dale Steyn, opting instead to afford fellow fast bowler Anrich Nortje another opportunity.

‘After Anrich’s performance, we thought he deserved another chance. We all know what Dale can do,’ concluded De Kock, who succeeded former T20I captain Faf du Plessis earlier this year.

‘I am still taking it in my stride. I am still learning. There’s a lot of things that I didn’t see when I was just a normal player. I am asking a lot of advice from Faf. I hope I can get better and put the results on the board.’

South Africa and Australia will soon meet for three ODIs. The first will be played at Boland Park in Paarl on Saturday.

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