Mark Boucher informed the South African team about his decision at the end of the third Test against England on Monday. He told the Cricket South Africa that he is looking to pursue other interests and reportedly is in talks with one of the SA20 franchises.
The board were caught by surprise and revealed that Boucher wants to explore other interests. It is understood that one of the opportunities Boucher has received is with MI Cape Town as the head coach in the new SA20 league.
Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket, will start the process of appointing a new head coach in the coming weeks. South Africa could well look for an interim coach for their Test series against Australia and the home Tests and make a permanent appointment thereafter.
“We are very surprised and shocked. He told us he wants to pursue other interests and opportunities. But we are glad that he will be there to take South Africa to the T20 World Cup,”
Pholetsi Moseki, CSA CEO told ESPNcricinfo.
Boucher has been the head coach of the team since December 2019 and has done exceptionally well. The Proteas have won 11 Tests under him, including the famous 2-1 victory over India at home in January.
They also did well in the previous T20 World Cup, missing out on the semi-final spot by a narrow margin of net run-rate. The team is in great shape and are among the favourites heading into the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
“He has built a sound platform for South Africa to flourish in all three formats and I’m sure we will see the results of that at the T20 World Cup next month. He has a settled squad already, one that is growing in confidence, and we look forward to watching them in their important series in India before they head to Australia,”
Nkwe said.
