SA Cricket magazine’s ANDRE HUISAMEN rates every Proteas player’s performance out of ten following Sunday’s defeat by England.

Temba Bavuma: 3

Another missed opportunity at the top of the order. Bavuma was excellent in that role against the English at the start of the year, but appears to be short of confidence since Friday. His presence in the Proteas white-ball team, though, remains of high importance.

Quinton de Kock: 6

Once again, quick out of the blocks but not really kicking on towards a big score. De Kock is critical to the Proteas getting off to a good start with the bat and sets the tone for a big total – but then he needs to stay at the crease longer.

READ: Proteas player ratings: 1st T20I

Reeza Hendricks: 3

It’s sad to see him not making the most of his opportunities in the squad. Hendricks is a classy player but needs a big performance to cement his place in the Proteas team. Batting at three was strange, but it was an opportunity none the less.

Faf du Plessis: 3

Would’ve liked to see him continue at No 3 where he did so well on Friday night. Being stumped is also not a good reflection on any dismissal. Fair to say when he departed, most Proteas fans realised there was trouble ahead.

Rassie van der Dussen: 5

He looked set for a big role towards the end, but 25 off 29 without any boundaries is not really the way to conclude an innings. In that scenario he had to be the big hitter but was clearly struggling to find the sweet spots.

Heinrich Klaasen: 2

Similarly, Klaasen should also go on the attack during the latter part of a Proteas innings. He is well capable of doing that, but on Sunday he didn’t come off at all and departed for only seven. He remains part of the Proteas middle-order headache selection for Mark Boucher and the selectors.

George Linde: 5

Again showed he’s no slouch with the bat in hand and could develop into a handy all-rounder. Linde is currently a rare standout performer across the two T20Is but didn’t pick up any wickets on Sunday, which would’ve been very welcome for the Proteas.

Kagiso Rabada: 5

He was tight and accurate with his line and lengths at the start of his spell and picked up the one wicket of Sam Curran. The small total to defend was always going to be difficult, but as a strike bowler it is important that Rabada makes early inroads.

Anrich Nortje: 4

Bowling with some decent pace at a stage and wasn’t really expensive across his four overs, but wickets were key for the Proteas to have a chance of winning. His variations also didn’t really work that well with the English batsmen on to him in a flash.

Lungi Ngidi: 5

He picked up two wickets, but Ngidi was way too expensive for any team trying to defend a total of less than 150. Conceding 51 runs in four overs will hurt any team in the T20 format, with his length just a tad short at times. His strong points are his ability to mix it up to left-handers but Dawid Malan was quick to take him on.

Tabraiz Shamsi: 8

The Proteas wouldn’t have been in the game if it wasn’t for his career-best 3-19 in his four overs. Shamsi’s development in the limited-overs games this past year and a bit has been superb. And, the fact that he is accumulating wickets helps the team add pressure on the opposition.