Bavuma receives unequivocal backing from Boucher

The Proteas are soon set to jet off on a white-ball tour of India from 28 September to 11 October, with Bavuma set to lead the team on his return from injury. Although there was disappointment for the Proteas skipper this week when he went unsold in the SA20 players’ auction, he has received vociferous support from Mark Boucher.

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“One thing that I can say is that leagues come and go,” Boucher commented, as quoted by Sport24. “have full respect for the new T20 league that’s been formed. I understand its importance to South African cricket, that it’s needed and all that type of stuff.

“However, let’s separate the national team from the league. Temba Bavuma is our leader and I back him 100%. Yes, there’s a lot of talk in social media and stuff about this and that. I don’t care, to be honest with you. He’s our leader and we back him like you can’t believe,” said Boucher.

“The guys were in each other’s company last night, we were having a couple of drinks and I could just see the energy around him because his teammates understand what he’s going though. 

“The bottom line is, we’ve been on a journey for the last two years. He’s been a massive part of it. We back him like you can’t believe. What happens in leagues, you can’t control. It is what it is.

“From a Protea perspective, we back him fully going into a massive tournament like the T20 World Cup. As a coach, I back him 100%. Simple as that.”

Bavuma, Boucher and the Proteas will leave for India on Thursday

The tour to India will be one of the last with Boucher at the helm as he is to leave his role after the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.  

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Boucher has held the position since December 2019, and led the Proteas to 11 Test wins, including a memorable 2-1 series win against India at home in January this year. The Proteas are also currently number two on the ICC World Test Championship table.

His departure will come a year sooner than his contract was set to expire.

Cricket South Africa CEO Pholetsi Moseki Moseki has now acknowledged they will need to move quickly to accelerate an unexpected search for Boucher’s replacement.

“To be honest, we were expecting him to be around until the ODI World Cup in India next year. When he engaged with us, it was quite a shock in that sense,” Moseki said.

“You can’t begrudge him for wanting to pursue other opportunities like he said he wanted. At least we agreed that he finishes after the T20 World Cup in Australia.

“It’s never ideal,” added Moseki. “We still though we had over 12 months. When he informed us, then we had to start looking at people but it’s not something we were looking at before.

“We need to have someone in, even if they are not permanent, for the Australia tour at the end of the year especially. And that’s the plan (director of cricket) Enoch (Nkwe) needs to present to me because everything has now been brought forward.”

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Boucher’s last series at the helm will be a white-ball tour of India from 28 September – 11 October before heading to the T20 World Cup in Australia, where South Africa are grouped alongside Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The tournament will run from 16 October – 13 November.