New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming had no excuses for his team's 4-0 loss in the five-match One-Day International series against South Africa which ended with a five-wicket defeat on Sunday.
"We offer no excuses, we were soundly beaten," Fleming told reporters.
"They played extremely well, it was a massive series for them and they were very desperate. That's what got them home in the tight games."
Fleming said New Zealand's batting failures were a major factor. "We haven't given the bowlers enough runs. The top-order batting was not consistent enough and so there was no platform," the Kiwi captain said.
New Zealand lost the toss for the fourth consecutive time at Centurion and were sent into bat under overcast skies, but Fleming refused to blame this.
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"There was a little in the conditions, but otherwise the only influence the toss had was that it meant it was 12 versus 11 because of these stupid super-sub rules. I have no time for them." Fleming said he had hoped for a total of around 250.
"That would have been a tough chase because the pitch would have got slower and turned." South Africa captain Graeme Smith said the series win was a sweet revenge for South Africa's 5-1 loss in New Zealand last year.
"The shoe is on the other foot now. A year ago we were the frustrated team, but now they're the ones clutching at things," Smith said.
"The team is maturing and growing in confidence. We just want to keep getting better and always push ourselves.
"But I'm satisfied with the way we've handled the various challenges we've faced this series," Smith added.
- UNI
