South Africa head coach Mark Boucher nodded in agreement that the loss to the Netherlands on Sunday, which sent the Proteas packing from the T20 World Cup, was his worst as head coach of the side.
As his tenure came to the saddest end possible, Boucher reflected on Proteas’ on-day exploits, in that they made a horrible feast of what should have been a straightforward virtual quarterfinal.
To make the semis, the tournament favourites had to beat the only associate side part of Group 2 in the morning at the Adelaide Oval. By the close of the afternoon, however, they were left in excruciating pain as the Dutch upstaged them with an allround display.
For Boucher, it was a matter of being “outbowled” on a dry surface where the South African attack, considering the bowling pack of the competition, gave away an above par score of 158/4, before their batters responded with 145/8 of their own.
It was the most gutwrenching of losses, one that reflected the side’s longstanding struggles to cope with the expectations on the world stage. While it would be unfair on the Dutch not to put the result down to their high spirits and brilliance in either skill, one couldn’t help but feel for the Proteas, who go back home with the tag of ‘chokers’ reinforced against their names.
For Boucher, personally, it was the end of a tenure which involved a topsy-turvey ride, having pre-announced that the T20 World Cup will be his last assignment in what will be a premature end to an association that was supposed to last till the 2023 World Cup in India.
“Probably as a coach, yes,”
he told the press, when queried if the defeat to the Netherlands was his worst as head coach.
“It is quite frustrating because as a player you can at least still have a say in the game. As a coach, you’re sort of left to leave it up to other individuals to go out there and try and perform.”
“If you would have said to us we’ve got Netherlands to play to get into a semifinal and we’ve got to beat them, we would have taken that at the start of the tournament.”
the former wicketkeeper-batter added.
