Proteas head coach Mark Boucher revealed on Monday that the reality of an impending disciplinary hearing had been difficult for him to handle while Boucher faces charges related to ethnic discrimination.
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher revealed on Monday that the reality of an impending disciplinary hearing had been difficult for him to handle.
Boucher faces charges related to ethnic discrimination which could rest in his dismissal by cricket Proteas. He will address a hearing chaired by a senior advocate next month.
“It’s been tough,”
said Boucher after South Africa completed a 2-0 Test series win against Bangladesh at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Monday.
“I’ve enjoyed coaching the guys, the cricketing side of things. We’ve got a tight unit together and I’ve enjoyed being around the guys and seeing the development in their cricket.
“Outside that, I can’t say I’ve enjoyed it. That’s being honest. I don’t think anyone in my situation can enjoy what’s been put on my plate.”
Boucher’s contract runs through to the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Before that, South Africa face the challenge of away test series against England and Australia but Boucher admitted that it was not certain if he would still be in charge.
“As a person, I’m very competitive. You want to judge yourself against the best teams in the world.
“We played against the two best teams of recent teams in (World Test championship finalists) India and New Zealand and they were tough-fought series and we did very well against those sides.”
South Africa defeat India 2-1 at home and shared a series in New Zealand after a hard defeat in the first test.
“When I was playing, going to England was always very tough, and going to Australia was very tough,”
said Boucher.
“It would be nice to compete against them but we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Boucher’s instant plans include holding meetings with the players to planning for the T20 World Cup.
“We’ll have a PDP for each player, we’ll talk contracts, and our coaches will sit together with them and talk about areas they’ve been good at and areas where we feel they can improve. There’s a World Cup around the corner so we need to do some planning about what sort of team we are looking to select in those kinds of different conditions. So, a lot of work is to be done outside the season as well. That will be happening hopefully within the next month.”
The accusation against Boucher followed hearings last year into bias in cricket.
Boucher was implicated by his former teammate Paul Adams of leading a song that had a racially diminishing wording in fines meetings after games while they were playing.
Cricket South Africa said it would also investigate “concerns and allegations” that arose around the resignation of former assistant coach, Enoch Nkwe.