Proteas captain Quinton de Kock was pleased to make England fight for Sunday’s two-wicket victory in the third and final ODI at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

England were dominant en route to 232-4 in pursuit of 257-run target, but lost four wickets in quick succession. All-rounder Moeen Ali was ultimately at hand to seal triumph with 40 deliveries to spare.

The result squared the series one-all. The Proteas won the first ODI at Newlands in Cape Town. The second at Kingsmead in Durban was washed out.

READ: England square series with Wanderers win

‘We thought it was getting tight. We had a bit of a sniff, but it’s still a loss at the end of the day. It was cool to make it tough for the English guys,’ said De Kock.

He succeeded former ODI captain Faf du Plessis on a full-time basis before the start of this series. De Kock, too, will captain the XI in this month’s T20I series against the same opposition.

“The captaincy takes some getting used to. It is different in quite a lot of ways, but the guys help me on and off the field, I’m just there to make the final decisions,” added De Kock.

The Proteas played the series without Du Plessis and experienced fast bowler Kagiso Rabada – and debuted spinner Bjorn Fortuin, fast bowler Lutho Sipamla and all-rounder Jon-Jon Smuts.

‘The energy has stood out. We’ve got a young team, but they had a lot of energy on the field and I enjoyed that,’ concluded De Kock.

South Africa and England will contest three T20Is. The first will be played at Buffalo Park in East London on Wednesday.

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