The under-pressure South African team emphatically leveled the One Day International (ODI) series against England at Newlands on Friday.

Barend Prins rates the Proteas players.

Graeme Smith
Gave his team an excellent start with a well-played 54, but lost his wicket in an attempt to up the scoring. 7/10.

Hashim Amla
'Hash' is giving the selectors a real headache with his run of form in the 50-over game. With an average of more than 49 at a superb strike rate of 83 opening the batting, surely there is a case to be made for the bearded genius to continue to open the batting when Jacques Kallis returns to fitness. Let another chance to score century slip however, indicating that he is still not finished product. What a player he is going to be. 8/10.

AB de Villiers
Played one of the best one-day innings I have ever had the privilege to witness live. Stylish, imaginative, and devastating. I can continue with the adjectives for most of the day, but it simply wouldn't do AB justice. 10/10

JP Duminy
Not JP's best efforts with the bat. He was arguably the only South African batsman that looked like he tried to force the issue. Once again showed that he is more than just a supremely talented batsman however with a fine display of off-spin bowling that included the scalps of Kevin Pietersen and Eion Morgan. 7/10.

Alviro Peterson
His half-century came up almost unnoticed, but Peterson did exactly the job that was required of him - feeding the strike to De Villiers and later Boucher. I am not his biggest fan as a player, but more contributions like this will go a long way to winning me over. 9/10.

Mark Boucher
In Albie Morkel's absence, Boucher reminded the selectors and viewing public that he is still one of the better 'finishers' around with a swashbuckling little innings that included the only six of the South African innings. As usual, was tidy behind the stumps. 8/10.

Ryan McLaren
Didn't have time to impress with the bat and leaked runs with ball in hand. Despite not being too bad, McLaren hasn't quite adapted to international cricket quite as easily as one might have hoped. 3/10.

Roelof vd Merwe
What has happened to Roelof over the last four months? Looks a shadow of the player that dislodged vice-captain Johan Botha from the side and his place in the team must surely now be under question. 2/10.

Morne Morkel
Despite being somewhat unpredictable, the taller of the Morkel brothers is one of the few bowlers around who can still trouble the batsmen even if he is not bowling well. Not that he didn't bowl well. 8/10.

Dale Steyn
Although he probably didn't bowl quite as poorly as his figures suggest, South Africa's premium fast bowler's lack of form must start to be a concern. 3/10.

Wayne Parnell
Despite his tender age, 'Parny' has quickly become one of the first names on the Proteas team sheet. Still some way from the finished product but wicket-taker extraordinaire nonetheless, it is scary to think how good this boy could become. 9/10.

  • Do you agree with Barend's assessment of the players? How would YOU rate them?