Shukri Conrad happy with Proteas T20 progress despite loss in Tri-Series final

The tournament hosted in Zimbabwe concluded on Saturday with New Zealand claiming a narrow three-run win over South Africa, their third in a row against the Proteas.

South Africa did win their two games against Zimbabwe to take something positive away from the event, but Conrad was more positive in his outlook.

"There's so many good things that we can take forward from here," he said. "The result is disappointing but there were so many good things that happened there today that we can be really proud of and that I am really proud of.

"With such a young and inexperienced side, to put up the type of performance today, that is also pleasing to see. It's no excuse for losing and we're still bitterly disappointed. But there were some really good things."

The Proteas took a relatively inexperienced squad to Zimbabwe for the Tri-Series and their were some strong performances, particularly from the likes of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis.

"Lhuan-dre is one of the bright prospects for South Africa. We saw what he has in him with the innings he played today," Conrad said.

"He had a lean period throughout this tournament, but he's a classy young cricketer and exciting times lie ahead for him. Young players go through tough times and very often don't know how to deal with it. But for him to come back in the final and play the way he did gave us a really good foundation.

"Dewald is a special talent. He's hugely disappointed that he didn't take us home but on another day, he would have hit that out of Harare. He's a special talent. He's probably one of the sweetest strikers of a cricket ball in world cricket at the moment.

"You're never out of a game when you've still got Dewald Brevis in the shed or he's at the wicket, and he'll be better for this experience this week. He got us close on a few occasions and it's a case of when he gets us over the line rather than if he will.

"This is all part of a journey for Dewald and part of his development. There's certainly no doubting his ability."