Johannesburg - ‘Where to from here?’ came the innocent inquiry to Mark Boucher following the Test series in New Zealand.
That’s a loaded question for Boucher. He chose, as he has done in the last few months, to focus entirely on the national men’s team that he coaches.
“Bangladesh, another tough series,” he said. “We’re very much in the Test Championship at the moment. We’ve got to learn from the mistakes, but we are heading down the right road.”
Whether the journey will still see him at the helm as head coach will be determined after Bangladesh’s tour - which encompasses three ODIs and two Tests. Boucher faces a disciplinary hearing to be chaired by Adv. Terry Motau SC in May, with Cricket SA seeking his dismissal for “gross misconduct.”
Boucher has been very clear about not answering questions related to the hearing, and players have emphasised that it has had no effect on performances.
They can certainly be taken at their word, given how brilliantly the Proteas recovered to beat the world Test champions New Zealand in the second Test in Christchurch on Tuesday.
“The guys showed a lot of character. It’s one thing to lose a Test match, it’s another thing to lose in the way we did, which was very disappointing,” said Boucher.
“The nice thing was that there was no sense of panic. The realisation was that we just didn’t rock up and it is very difficult to judge guys’ skills when you don’t rock up. There was an understanding of what we needed to bring to the table for the second Test.”
Boucher praised skipper Dean Elgar’s brave decision to bat first upon winning the toss. “Dean is a guy who talks a lot and is prepared to follow it up with action. We did say that we were going to be under pressure in the second Test and we wanted to recognise that, not run away from it, but walk towards it,” Boucher commented.
“Just by winning the toss and batting, and he’s not batting at no5, him being the opening batter speaks words for the character and individual that he is. You get a captain like that who fronts up, goes towards the pressure, the rest of the team just gels together. They look up to him. He’s been fantastic in this series and in the last one as well. I know the guys back him in a very strong way.”
Boucher was also pleased by the team’s unified effort in winning the last Test comprehensively by 198 runs, while highlighting the individual achievements of Sarel Erwee, Kyle Verreynne and Kagiso Rabada. “Individuals stepped up…each individual had their part to play. There will always be heroes in Test matches, but there will be some unsung ones that only get recognition in our change-room. Lutho (Sipamla) and Wiaan (Mulder), didn’t play the last Test, they would have felt under pressure, but they performed their roles. You don’t have to get the wickets, just perform your role and everyone did that.”
In Sipamla’s case it was a fine, wicketless spell on the fourth evening, that kept Devon Conway pinned at one end, and built pressure that allowed Keshav Maharaj to take a crucial wicket 20 minutes before the close of play. The next day Sipamla got his reward, by trapping Conway lbw for 92.
Mulder,has not lived up to the hype created by former Proteas coach Otis Gibson and is now behind Marco Jansen as the designated seam bowling all-rounder, but did produce some good spells with the ball, and most importantly an 87-run sixth wicket partnership in the second innings with Verreynne.
The players and coaches will have a few weeks of rest and recuperation before the ODIs against Bangladesh on March 18. That series is crucial for the ICC Super League, with South Africa in need of points in order to secure automatic qualification for next year’s 50-over World Cup.
*Meanwhile the Proteas will play two T20 Internationals against Ireland in Bristol later this year. The matches will be played on August 3 and 5 after a three match T20 series with England.