Johannesburg, June 25(ANI): South Africa captain Hashim Amla has said the Proteas would take the positives from their crushing nine-wicket defeat in the tri-series final against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

The loss was the culmination of a week of experimentation, coupled with inconsistent performances, a clear indication of the work that is needed ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in September.

I can't quite but my finger on it (reason for poor performances), but I think it's a combination of early season rustiness coming through but at the same token we have to acknowledge that Zimbabwe played really well, Sports24 quoted Amla, as saying.

Their batters hit good form and struck the ball really well, they played better than us. The whole purpose of the tour was to have a look at the guys who are at the next tier, he added.

Some guys performed really well. Lopsy bowled a few good spells up front in a couple of the games; Parney struggled but came back strong; Morris bowled well and Faf (du Plessis) bowled his full quota really well, he said.

Amla further said: I think the selectors will have a sense of who they think can fulfil the roles underneath Dale (Steyn) and Morne (Morkel) and in that sense there is a lot to take out of this tour and in many ways maybe it is mission accomplished. (ANI)