'It was an abject performance', Proteas coach lays into bowlers after record T20I defeat

Phil Salt smashed 141 not out from 60 balls as England posted a mammoth 304-2 in their 20 overs after visiting captain Aiden Markram had won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Proteas replied with 158 all out to concede their heaviest defeat in the T20 format, while the 146-run margin was England's biggest victory to level the three-math series at 1-1 with one game remaining.

Conrad made no excuses for the performances and said the players, the bowling unit in particular, will have to execute better on what was a good batting pitch.

The Proteas mentor said afterwards: "Anything I say is going to be an excuse more than anything else. We need to be better than that on a good wicket. I think with the new ball, when there's an onslaught the way there was, we need to find different plans.

"I don't think we bowled enough yorkers, maybe didn't use the short ball enough, and we became one dimensional… it was an abject performance. Really not good enough.

"At the end of the day, the players have got to take a good, long look at themselves, and look at their performance and execution when they're under pressure.

"When all around you are losing their heads you've got to make sure you keep yours, and we weren't able to do that tonight."

Conrad and his team do not have time to dwell on the loss and lick their wounds for too long with the series decider set to be played in Nottingham on Sunday.

He added: "You’ve got to wipe the slate clean but you can't ignore what's gone wrong, and a lot has gone wrong tonight.

"We need to be better than that if we want to be a top side, which I believe we are. That wasn't our best and we've got to be brutally honest about it and make sure we come back better on Sunday."