Boucher savours winning start
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OFF TO A KICKING START: Porteas boss Mark Boucher is confident after his first win in charge. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix. OFF TO A KICKING START: Porteas boss Mark Boucher is confident after his first win in charge. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix.
South Africa coach Mark Boucher said winning his first test match in charge was as good as the many victories he enjoyed as a player after his maiden triumph against England on Sunday.
The 107-run victory in the first test at Centurion Park came a fortnight after Boucher, 43, was appointed to the post after a shake-up of Cricket South Africa’s structures at the start of the month.
“I’ve played quite a few test matches and we won a couple of good ones but certainly this is up there, especially from where we have come," he said.
“It has been a hectic two weeks, we’ve put in a lot of hard work as a coaching staff, so this is a reward.
“I’m also very happy for the players and the way they approached it,” Boucher added.
TRUSTED: Boucher won coach of the year with the domestic side, Titans ion 2016. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix.
“We said before we wanted to instill some confidence back in the players and to see them walk off the field with a win you can see now there is a belief that we can win test matches against very good teams.”
Boucher took over the domestic Titans franchise in 2016 and within a year was named Coach of the Year. He now has a contract with South Africa until 2023.
“We understand there is a long way to go,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of youngsters we need to impart knowledge to and speed up the process of becoming experienced cricketers and we’ll certainly do that."
EXPERIENCE: Boucher has played for South Africa. Picture: Philip Brown/Reuters.
Boucher, one of the world's best wicketkeepers, had his playing career ended in horrific fashion in a freak incident in Taunton in 2012 where he got hit by a ball in the left eye, losing his lens, iris and pupil.
It brought a premature end to a 147-test career in which he took a world record 999 dismissals in all forms of cricket so to return to the South Africa dressing room was a thrill.
“I’ve been out of international cricket for quite some time now so it’s an honour for me to walk back into that changing room and be part of hopefully a change in South African cricket," he said.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/Crystal_Arnold?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@crystal_arnoldcaught up with Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis who reflect on their favourite Supersport Park memories during their test careers. #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/282Sk6nnrn
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV)
“There’s been quite a few changes but the spirit and passion is still there. I’m looking forward to the challenge and working hard with the guys and seeing them develop,” Boucher added.