The Proteas were schooled in Australia, suffering a 2-0 series loss on a tour that has raised alarm bells over the current state of the Test side.
The batting, in particular, was a problem area as the Aussie attack dominated. It was an incredibly tough outing for stand-in coach Malibongwe Maketa, too, who was looking to make his mark as the search for a permanent replacement for Mark Boucher continues.
Here, we look back at how the players performed on the field, giving them ratings out of 10. Use our comments section below to give us your views. Dean Elgar 3 (56 runs @ 9.33)As commentator Mark Nicholas said after Elgar's final failure, his batting was "hard to watch" at times.
The captain struggled throughout and was technically exposed. It is hard to recall when Elgar was this out of form. A natural fighter, he has vowed to bounce back, and the home series against West Indies in February/March could be make or break for him. Sarel Erwee 4.5 (112 runs at 22.40)Made a neat, tidy 42* on the final day of the series but struggled as much as anyone before that.