Proteas captain Quinton de Kock says patience with the current Proteas T20I team ‘is key’ as they look ahead to next year’s T20 World Cup in India.

The Proteas lost their third series of the year in this format over this past weekend when they went down to England in the second T20I in Paarl on Sunday.

With only pride to play for in Tuesday’s final encounter at Newlands, De Kock says going up against a strong outfit like England after months of no action was always going to be tough.

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‘Patience is key at the moment,’ he told reporters on Monday.

‘The team hasn’t played together in five to six months. It’s all about patience. If we spend more time together and play together, the results will come.’

The Proteas will be hoping to avoid a series whitewash when they tackle England in the final T2oI and will be eager to put in a better performance.

Given the difficulty the team faced in the lead-up to the series, with players withdrawing due to injury and David Miller contracting Covid-19, De Kock says they are likely going to stick with a similar team that played in the first two T2oIs.

‘Obviously, it is disappointing to lose but I don’t think we are going to change much because we still want to win. We want to give guys opportunities but we need to win.

‘It’s difficult because we don’t have all the options that we would like. It would be nice to have a little extra batsman as an all-rounder to give us more freedom. But, at the end of the day, we have to carry on and do our best.’

Next year’s T20 World Cup is set to get under way in October, where the Proteas will face a stern challenge in their quest for winning a first World Cup.