Has South Africa’s 2-0 whitewash of Bangladesh in their recent Test series marked the end of the line for coach Mark Boucher?
When the final ball of the second Test at St George’s Park was bowled to mark South Africa’s 332-run win earlier in the week, Boucher was a happy man - with his team winning five of the seven five-dayers played this season.
But shadowing him was the thought of having to appear for a gross misconduct charge at a hearing next month, after former teammate Paul Adams accused him of racism during his time with the national team in the 90s.
At the Social Justice Nation Building hearings last year, Adams fingered Boucher as one of the players who sang “Brown Shit in the Ring” aimed at the former spin bowler during fines meetings.
On top of that, Boucher also has to defend claims made by former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who resigned from his position last year citing the team culture and environment as a big concern.
Of whether he enjoyed his tenure with the Proteas to date, Boucher says: “It has been tough, I’ve really enjoyed coaching the guys. The cricketing side of things.
“We’ve got a really tight unit together and I’ve really enjoyed being around the guys and seeing the development in their cricket.”
But he adds: “Outside that, it’s quite difficult for me to say I’ve enjoyed it. I don’t think anyone in my situation can enjoy what’s been put on my plate. But I’ve enjoyed the cricket side of things and I’ll leave it at that.”
Asked about the future and whether he would like to bag wins on the upcoming tours to England and Australia, Boucher adds: “It would be nice to compete against them, but we’ll see what happens in the future.”