While he is pleased with their second-place finish in the ODI Championship, Proteas captain AB de Villiers says they are still gunning for the top spot in the world rankings.
“It’s a great honour to lead a squad of extremely talented cricketers and finishing as number two on the ODI Championship is a great achievement, although it means that we still have a lot of work to do,” De Villiers said on Sunday.
“Our main aim as a unit is to be the number one team in the world.
“That is the goal that we have set for ourselves.
“It will be a challenge to get to the top but it is also a process which begins by being consistent and winning every series that we take part in.”
The Proteas would end the ODI Championship race in second place on the April 1 cut-off date, Cricket South Africa confirmed, with the team pocketing $75 000 for their efforts.
Australia would win the championship fo the third successive year, by finishing top of the rankings, while India were set to end in third place.
South Africa, who last won the ODI rankings title in 2009, were victorious in seven of their 11 one-day matches since April 2011.
They went down 2-1 in a home series against Australia, but picked up series wins over Sri Lanka (3-2 at home) and New Zealand (3-0 away).
The Proteas face England, New Zealand and Pakistan over the next 12-month period, followed by the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England.
They are also set to finish second, behind England, in the Test Championship table. — Sapa