The never-ending cricket season has taken its toll on the South African team, according to their coach Mickey Arthur.

In the past year the Proteas have taken part in the Twenty20 World Cup on home soil, toured Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Bangladesh, and completed home series against New Zealand and the West Indies.

The team were supposed to take part in the Champions Trophy in September and October, but the tournament was postponed due to unrest in the county.

Arthur believes the decision was a blessing in disguise for his exhausted players.

"We have been at it since before the Twenty20 World Cup last September, and all that cricket has taken its toll," Arthur told Sapa. "The players - particularly those who played in both the Test and one-day series in England - all have niggles and they all need a complete rest.

"I don't know what would have happened if we'd had to get on a plane on Sunday to fly to Pakistan. Certainly there would have been a number of players who would not have been able to go."

The South African coach says the team's management have made it clear to authorities that they are not interested in playing cricket over the next few weeks.

"We have spoken to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and told them what we plan to do before our next international commitment, and we have let them know that we do not want this extra tournament," he said.