Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad believes that we should be proud of the talent coming through the system in South Africa.

The Proteas did a magnificent job to beat India in three days, by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion.

There were a number of stand-out performers including Dean Elgar, who announced that he would retire after this series, and the debutants.

“Well, maybe the retirement decision had everything to do with the way he played,” said Conrad when asked whether Elgar should consider reversing his retirement.

“I thought Dean was phenomenal. I haven’t seen Dean play any better, I must be honest. And then also, if you look at Dean’s record, second to Graeme [Smith] in terms of opening batters, that’s something to be really proud of. And it’s something that we want to start highlighting in the squad. Obviously, team first is the obvious thing, but also, real performances from individuals that can put our name up in lights, you know.

“The debutants were fantastic. I thought Nandre had a massive performance today and the other day. And then obviously, David Bedingham. We drool over a lot of players internationally.

“Maybe it’s time to start drooling about our own players, you know. And I think David is someone that we can drool over. I’m talking about his expertise with a batting hand that is, was the other debutant. It was just the two, yeah, just the two.

“Yeah, so, great performances from them. But all around, I mean, KG was brilliant with the ball, but I think there was no more deserved man of the match than Dean and the way he took everything on was simply fantastic.

When asked about the talent pool that the Proteas produced, including the names that appear in IPL Auctions Conrad emphasised the quality of the players in South Africa.

“I don’t think Harsha Bhogle said that so long ago, you know, he was questioning whether South Africa still produces players,” Conrad responded.

“And yeah, we’ve proven that we can produce players. And I think for far too long, and this is not being windgat [arrogant] in any way, this is about sometimes we’re too humble as a group. We are so easy to talk up other players and we don’t give our players enough of the credit – A bit like the debutants, a bit like Dean. These guys were absolutely phenomenal.

“And yes, there’s always some tinkering. We’ve got to plan. We’ve got to look forward and try and put succession plans in place when to debut certain guys, making sure that all the elements are in their favour.

“So quite a bit of thinking and thought goes into it when we do. And you need a little bit of luck, I think. Coaching or playing the game without any luck, you’re always going to struggle. So a little bit of luck here and there and things fall into place. So I’m really happy that things are falling into place.”

Despite the resounding win, the coach did highlight some improvements the team can make.

“Again, basically, let’s get the negatives out of the way. The catching, maybe we’ll put that down to some rustiness. But yeah, other than that, I think we’ve jelled really well together as a unit,” he said.

“A lot of the time, it’s about freeing the guys up and allowing them to be the best versions of themselves both on the field and in the change room. So, that’s been a big thing for us. Something that we measure ourselves on. Are we being the best versions of ourselves when we go and play out there?

“And then, again, you highlight Australia and England. Yeah, tough places to go and play and win. We’re brilliant at home. We are absolutely brilliant at home. I’ve been lucky coaching a lot about luck as well. You play a series, your first home series, your first series is at home against the West Indies at SuperSport Park, where we know how quickly the game speeds up.

“But like today, and then obviously, everybody really, really switched on for this series and wanted to make a real statement today. And I think we can tick all those boxes.”

Watch the full press conference below: