“South African cricket has now reached unprecedented heights with the Standard Bank Proteas winning the ODI series in Australia, coming on top of the historic Test series win also in Australia.
“This makes this Proteas squad the first South African side to beat Australia at both forms of the game in a single tour, and to cap it off, this was away from home.
“Very few experts believed the Standard Bank Proteas could beat top ranked Australia at a time when it was thought South Africa was better at Test cricket than the ODIs.
“Under the inspired leadership of rookie captain, Johan Botha, this team combined its experience with its youth in a most remarkable way and are now in an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
“The Proteas have certainly taken up where they left off in 2008 which was their best season ever.
“They have now moved up a further notch by beating top-ranked Australia in their own backyard in both forms of the game.
“One of the most gratifying aspects of the tour to Australia was that both series' were played by both teams in the true spirit of the game - very hard, but with great respect for each other.
“Several young players have established themselves on this tour as world stars, such as Dale Steyn, the Morkel brothers, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy.
“The Proteas also have the best captain in world cricket, Graeme Smith. This all bodes well for the Australian tour into South Africa next month as well as for the general future of the game here.
“These successes have not come by accident, and all CSA structures can take a bow because they have made a contribution to the preparation of the Proteas.
“We are very grateful to the sponsors of the Proteas, Castle Lager in Tests and Standard Bank in ODIs and Pro20 Internationals.
“We also applaud SuperSport, MTN and SAA for sponsoring our strong domestic competitions which have in turn raised the standard of play by the Proteas.”
The victorious Proteas arrive home from Australia on Saturday, 31 January 2009, at 17:50pm on flight SA 281 at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
