Mark Boucher says the Proteas have reason to feel “hard done by” after their opening T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Hobart ended in a no-result.

South Africa were 51-0 after three overs, needing just 13 more runs to win in another four overs, when rain forced the players from the field for the last time.

Quinton de Kock hit an unbeaten 47 off 18 balls, including 23 off the first over of the innings.

Zimbabwe had made 79-5 in their rain-reduced nine overs, with South Africa’s target reduced to 64 in seven overs following another rain delay.

Instead of getting a win that would have boosted their net run rate, the Proteas had to settle for a single log point and will probably have to win their remaining four Super 12 matches to reach the semi-finals.

HIGHLIGHTS: Proteas vs Zimbabwe

“I thought it was tough conditions. We are here to play a World Cup, and, obviously, we wanted to play,” said Boucher afterward.

“It seemed like both captains wanted to play at the start, and having a look at the game before [Bangladesh vs Netherlands], the field was fairly wet as well, and there had been a bit of rain around.

“The bottom line is that players don’t make those decisions; the officials are there to make those decisions, and that’s what happened.”

When asked if the Proteas would have been happy to bowl in the conditions Zimbabwe faced toward the end of the match, Boucher said: “I think we did. We bowled with a ball that was quite wet as well.

“We were in a very good position, so if you walk away from this game you’re going to be thinking we were hard done by, whether the game should have taken place or not.

“If Zimbabwe were in our position, they would have wanted to carry on playing.”

However, Boucher pointed out that unlike in previous World Cups, when rain had ended Proteas campaigns, they still had their fate in their own hands.

“The positive is it’s not a do-or-die game for us. We are still in control of what happens in this World Cup,” he said.

“Yes, we haven’t had a good history with rain, but I’d rather have it happen in the first game where we are still in control of what we can actually do. It’s a tough group and there is probably one game that is really going to be a game that we have to win, but it’s still very early in the tournament.

“I’m just happy with the way that we played and our intensity was very good today, so that’s a positive I can take out of it.

“Quinny also played some really special cricket shots, which I think sends a bit of a message as well.”