Johannesburg - Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday congratulated the Proteas on the most successful tour any South African team has ever undertaken to England.
The Test series was won 2-0, the ODI series was drawn 2-2 and the T20 series was drawn 1-1.
“This has undoubtedly been our most successful tour ever to England from every point of view,” commented CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul.
“England are always a very hard side to beat, particularly in their own backyard where both the conditions and the weather can provide testing obstacles. It must also be remembered that, when the Proteas arrived in England, their opponents were ranked No. 1 in both Test and ODI cricket.
“Winning back-to-back Test series in England has been an incredible achievement as has been the fact that the Proteas have either won or drawn all the three series in which they have been involved,” said Faul.
“They can now take a lot of confidence both into the impending ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka as well as next year's ICC Champions Trophy which will take place in England.
“They have maintained relentless pressure throughout a tour that has lasted nearly three months and have shown impressive depth in managing to do this while being able to rest key players at different times.
“This has required many stand-out individual performances within the context of a team game. There surely cannot be a better all-round batsman in world cricket at the moment than Hashim Amla while Dale Steyn has taken his bowling skills to new levels. We are also indeed very fortunate to have two inspiring captains of the quality of world record holder Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers.
“One could go on mentioning other deserving names and I believe it is fair to say that virtually every member of all our squads has made a telling contribution to the team's success.
“What is equally important is that the Proteas have been hailed as a champion team throughout all areas of the media and this applies to their general conduct both on and off the field as well. They have been very popular tourists.
“They have made a nation extremely proud and they deserve our most sincere congratulations and heartfelt thanks.” - Sapa