Proteas limited overs coach Rob Walter cut a satisfied figure following his side’s first T20 International (T20I) series victory in over two years at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Although the final T20I between South Africa and Pakistan was washed out without any play possible, the Proteas had already clinched the three-match series ahead of the last match.
It came as a welcome result, as the emphasis after the T20 World Cup has been on exploring the depth in SA cricket - which has often come at the cost of performance.
With the side seemingly more settled now, and experienced players like Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van Der Dussen finding form in the Pakistan series, the Proteas certainly seem to be a team on the rise.
"It's not linear, it never works out just exactly as you planned it, the team's always changing, you get broken toes the day before the series starts, so things have to be fluid,” said Walter.
"But, ultimately we've got a very strong idea of the parts of our game that we're working on, the way we want to play, and the attributes of the players that we want to fit into the way we want to play, so we just keep building on that.”
A number of young players like Kwena Maphaka, Nqaba Peter, Andile Simelane and Dayyaan Galiem were given a run during the series. For the less established players to rise to the occasion and see the Proteas win the series, was significant progress.
“As they say, winning breeds confidence, so from our point of view it was just about sticking to the processes and trusting the things we’ve been working on, trusting the players we’ve been giving opportunities to, and really trusting that the losses would turn into wins,” Walter said.
“So from a team point of view I think they’ll take heart from that, and I must take my hat off to them for continuing to work hard and sticking to the way we want to play the game, and trusting it will pay off.”