After the T20 World Cup, it was always going to be less exciting playing a T20I series just 11 days after South Africa were unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament.
Of course, it was New Zealand who thumped the Proteas in the T20 World Cup semi-final, and before another major tournament was properly digested, South Africa jumped on a plane to play the Kiwis in a five-match T20 series.
Both squads featured mostly fringe players, as the series was clearly about exposing new talent to international cricket.
It was also about Proteas players like Tony de Zorzi getting a run out after he was ruled out of the T20 World Cup through injury.
South Africa’s Memorable Series: De Zorzi’s Struggles, Mulder’s Promotion, Esterhuizen’s Dominance, and Bowling Highlights
For De Zorzi in particular, it did not go particularly well as he scored 53 runs across the five matches with a highest score of 23.
One of the strangest strategies employed by South Africa, though, was promoting all-rounder Wiaan Mulder to open the batting. In his four knocks, Mulder scored 47 runs, which included two ducks in a row.
The shining light for South Africa in the series, though, was Connor Esterhuizen, as he ended the series as the top run-scorer by a massive margin. Esterhuizen notched up 200 runs, exactly double the next best, which was SA-born Kiwi Devon Conway.
Esterhuizen made scores of 45*, 8, 15, 57, and 75 for an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 145.
On the bowling front, Ottneil Baartman showed why he would have been a good pick for the T20 World Cup as he claimed seven wickets at an average of 16. The returning Gerald Coetzee also impressed as he was the joint leading wicket-taker alongside New Zealand’s Ben Sears with eight wickets.
Ultimately, it was a series that will remain long in the memory - but there certainly were a number of encouraging performances from a South African perspective.