Proteas coach Mark Boucher will continue to coach the national team, after the charges of racism levelled against him by Cricket South Africa were dropped on Tuesday.
With his hearing set for May 16, Boucher sounded uncertain as to whether he would continue in his role as South Africa’s head coach when asked about it at the conclusion of the 2-0 Test series win over Bangladesh last month.
But after the case was withdrawn Tuesday, the coach confirmed that he would stay on.
A statement released by CSA reads: “Cricket South Africa (CSA) has concluded that there is no basis to sustain any of the disciplinary charges, including charges of racism, against Mark Boucher...
“The board of CSA has therefore formally and unreservedly withdrawn all of the charges.”
Explaining the decision to withdraw the charges, CSA says they took into account that: “[Paul] Adams [who fingered Boucher as one of the players who sang ‘Brown Sh!t in the Ring aimed at him in the 90s] recently announced that he had withdrawn from testifying against Boucher during the disciplinary hearing.
“In doing so, Adams stated that his concerns articulated during the Social Justice and Nation building [SJN] process were about the overall ‘culture’ in the Proteas team during the early 2000s, rather than being about any particular player.
“During the SJN process, Boucher formally apologised to Adams. After the SJN process, Adams indicated to CSA’s lawyers that he accepts this apology.
“[Former Proteas assistant coach Enoch] Nkwe [who resigned citing ‘cultural issues’ in the squad] decided that he too did not wish to testify against Boucher during the disciplinary hearing.
“In doing so, Nkwe stated publicly that he did not intend to take sides regarding Boucher and that ‘whatever happens in that process, I hope the outcome will be the one that’s best for the game’.
“CSA’s lawyers engaged with various other potential witnesses over the last month and concluded that none of the three charges were sustainable.
“The very recent ruling by Hamilton Maenetje and Michael Bishop in the Graeme Smith arbitration fortified the conclusion that the charges against Boucher would be dismissed.”
In his own statement, Boucher says: “I welcome the decision of CSA to unreservedly withdraw all charges against me. The allegations of racism which were levelled against me were unjustified and have caused me considerable hurt and anguish.
“The last few months have been extremely difficult to endure for me and my family. I am glad that the process has finally come to an end and that CSA has accepted that the charges against me are unsustainable…
“I consider that the matter is now finalised and closed and I do not intend making further statements on this matter.
“I look forward to continuing to focus on my job and to taking the Proteas men’s team to even greater heights.”