“There’s no sport on TV, so there’s not much TV to watch.” - Mark Boucher reveals apparently limited viewing habits.
TELFORD VICE in Cape Town
GARAGE? Cleaned. Workout? Done. Now what? For many South Africans, the lockdown forced by the global coronavirus pandemic means finding ways to fill hours that would normally be spent commuting, shopping and socialising.
Mark Boucher, South Africa’s coach since December, is different from most of his compatriots in many ways. But the virus is nothing if not democratic. “I’ve cleaned up my garage and tried to stay fit,” he said in an audio file released by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday. “I made plans to get away, take the family somewhere and maybe play a bit of golf and go to the bush. That hasn’t been possible. We’re biding our time. I’ve got a just under two-year-old, so he’s been keeping myself and my wife pretty busy running around the place. There’s no sport on TV, so there’s not much TV to watch.”
Maybe Boucher isn’t keen on watching news broadcasts that seem stuck, 24/7, on the only story that matters. South Africa became part of the saga last month when their tour to India, comprising three ODIs, was called off after the first game was washed out because of concerns over the spread of the virus. “That was unfortunate because it would have been nice to judge ourselves, as a young side, against [India],” Boucher said.
But he and his players count themselves among the more fortunate members of the worldwide cricket family: “I don’t think it’s really disrupted our plans. We were quite lucky in the fact that we were always going to be having a break at this time. It may be a chance [for the players] to get rid of a few niggles their bodies have picked up. The key is going to be to rest for the first two or three weeks and refuel yourself mentally as well as physically. We have put in some programmes on how to keep yourself fit and strong around your household. They need to keep their discipline. They will be tested after the lockdown period.”
Boucher said that went not only for those currently in the national squad, but for the “30 or 40” who could be involved at senior and A team level when cricket resumes. There is good reason for him to be taken seriously, what with Sisanda Magala, Jon-Jon Smuts, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi sent on a camp to improve their conditioning last season. Magala and Smuts were denied chances to play for South Africa because they fell short of the required standard. “Because of all the new fitness clauses we’re going to be putting into contracts, you need to be fit,” Boucher said. “We’ve seen in the recent past that players who aren’t fit enough don’t get selected. Players are professionals and they need to do what they need to do.”
Those who put in the work and perform would be rewarded regardless of any other factors. Boucher has already proved that, with the help of the selectors. Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Pieter Malan, Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks all made their Test debuts in the series against England, who were also the opponents for the first taste of ODI cricket afforded Smuts, Lutho Sipamla and Bjorn Fortuin. Against Australia, Pite van Biljon made his T20 bow and Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne and Daryn Dupavillon all cracked the nod in the ODIs. In age terms the dozen players range from 21-year-old Sipamla to Van Biljon, who is 33.
The steady stream of new personnel needed careful management, as Boucher explained: “You don’t give six or seven youngsters an opportunity. You give one or two of them an opportunity and you get some senior players around them. No senior player in the franchise system is being overlooked. I’m not too worried about age at the moment. If you perform at franchise level you should be able to get a chance if we rest a few players.”
Boucher said his message to players coming into the team was: “You’re going to get given opportunity. We are resting a senior player. It is his position that he holds. So when he does come back, no matter what performances you’ve put in, he rightfully owns that position.”
The results of all that tinkering were mixed. South Africa won seven of their completed matches in 2019-20 and lost their other eight. They went down in the Test and T20 series against England and drew the ODI rubber, and Australia won the T20 series. Going into the ODIs against the Aussies, South Africa had won only four of their dozen completed games. They reeled off a hattrick of successes to soften the blow of what remains a losing campaign.
“It was disappointing, especially against England,” Boucher said. “We didn’t perform like we wanted to. We asked some questions and we got some answers — some good, some bad. We’ve got a lot of work to do with our Test cricket, a lot of rebuilding with our team. The exciting thing for me was to see the guys grow in white-ball cricket. We gave quite a bit of opportunity to youngsters, and they started to gel together as a team and not rely on one guy to carry them through. Our performance against Australia was the light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s still a hell of a lot to do.”
At least, there will be a lot to work on once cricket is again part of Boucher’s reality. “There’s not much you can do as a cricketer. We’re just waiting to see when we can get involved physically. We’ve done enough talking.”
First published by Cricbuzz.
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