Rob Walter: Proteas broke records and played great cricket

Despite falling once again at the semi-final hurdle to Australia, and South African men's cricket still waiting for their first-ever World Cup final, the coach remains proud of what he witnessed over the past few weeks.

READ: Temba Bavuma oblivious to criticism over Cricket World Cup showing

While admittedly disappointed with the outcome of their tournament, Walter – who arrived back in Johannesburg along with captain Temba Bavuma on Saturday evening, took pride in the records set by the team and several individuals.

"Certainly wanted to arrive home with more than just my bags, but that wasn't to be. But it sorted of gets a little bit easier as time passes," said Walter.

"It was sad not to be altogether on the plane, but we spent a couple of days together at the hotel just sort of reflecting on the tournament itself.

"The disappointment subsides, but just the way the guys played the whole tournament makes it a little bit easier to stomach really.

"I have nothing but huge pride for the players and the staff for the work that they put it in, and the way the guys played in the semi-final, coming back a couple of times in some sort of desperate positions, pushing hard and even coming close to winning it.

"So, ja, we broke records, we played great cricket – certainly a brand of cricket that I hope the country really enjoyed watching, and that we were certainly proud of playing."

 Among the Proteas' World Cup records are most team sixes (82) and most team hundreds (8) in a single tournament, while individuals such as Quinton de Kock equalled Kumar Sangakara's record of second-most individual hundred (4) in a single tournament, and Marco Jansen recorded the most (12) powerplay wickets in a single tournament.

The former Titans mentor further admitted he steers relatively clear of reading news articles or following social media reaction, when quizzed about the largely negative sentiment from the country over their semi-final defeat to Australia.

"To be honest, I don't read a hell of a lot. You know, everyone's going to have their opinion on it, and so for me it's just to allow people to have their opinions," he reacted.

"We reflect as the management, we reflect as players and staff, and that's all that's really important to us because on the ground we understand what took place.

"[We understand] what the areas are where we did really well and what the areas are that we need to work on moving forward."

ALSO READ: Proteas didn't choke - Rob Walter