Cricket South Africa (CSA) has congratulated the Proteas on their clean sweep tour of New Zealand, during which they won the one-off T20 International match, followed by a 3-2 victory in the ODI series and a 1-0 victory in the Test match series.
The final Test in Hamilton was drawn on Wednesday after rain prevented any play on the final day at Seddon Park.
“Albeit a rain-affected last day that completed our Test series victory, the Proteas deserve to be fully praised and congratulated for another magnificent achievement on the road and an outstanding summer of top-class performances,” CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
“The Black Caps are not easy to beat under their home conditions. You only have to look back at how well they performed in the 2015 edition of the ICC World Cup, when they reached the final.
“We are the only team to have beaten them in a series in any format on their home soil this past season.
“Congratulations are due to head coach Russell Domingo, our two captains Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, and all the players and management staff for this excellent record of performances both against New Zealand and in the earlier series during a successful summer.
“If you look back at the clean sweep home ODI series against Australia, the away Test series triumph against the same opponents and the home series against Sri Lanka, our team have been playing excellently over an extended period of time.
It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it. Fourth consecutive series win for these men. What a season 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 #ProteaFire #NZvSA pic.twitter.com/6Qjr99PuEN
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 29, 2017
“Their achievement in jumping from No 7 to No 2 in the ICC Test rankings is quite remarkable.
“Good luck to the team as they look forward to their next assignment in England, where we will be looking to regain the Basil d’Oliveira Trophy for the Test series and compete in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament.
“We can certainly face the future with a sense of confidence and optimism.”