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- Proteas coach Mark Boucher has stressed the importance of moving forward with the team’s new vision.
- Cricket South Africa is working hard to finalize the dates for the national and international seasons.
- Boucher says it was vital for the Proteas to “create a new identity” at a recent cultural camp.
Proteas trainer Mark Boucher He has emphasized the importance of his young team moving forward with their new vision when they return to action.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is working hard to finalize the dates for the domestic and international seasons after more than six months of inactivity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 2019/20 campaign ended prematurely in March when the virus forced Boucher and his teammates to interrupt their limited tour to India, while local cricket also ended abruptly a few days later.
The only chance the Protea had to meet was at a cultural camp in Skukuza last month.
“These have been interesting times for everyone,” the national coach said in a CSA statement. “We were always supposed to have a little break … but no one thought in their wildest dreams that it would be that long, so having all the guys in one place at the same time was really nice, only to catch up. “
The former Proteas goalkeeper said camp was key for him and his assistant. Enoch Nkwe to help forge a new identity for the young team.
“It was important for this team to create a new identity. [just] it happened a little later than expected, “Boucher continued.” It was nice to have a deeper team as well, I haven’t really had a chance to meet a lot of them personally so it was really nice to catch up with them – see a couple of new faces and see a couple of old faces, pass a little time together and go into the details of where we want to go as a team. “
Boucher and Nkwe are confident that the next generation of Proteas will grow and mature quickly.
“The one thing about the way Enoch and I want to try to push this team forward is for the players to take charge and be responsible for their team. We had very good mediators come in. It wasn’t about the management; it was really about the Players take a couple of things off and they’re open and honest. There were some really tough issues at times, but for me it showed that we as a team could be young, but we’re growing fast. “
The Proteas Test team has lost a significant number of experienced players in the recent past, with players like Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy and Dale Steyn all retired. They have fallen to sixth place in the ICC Test rankings and are in fifth place in both cue ball formats.
Boucher says he wants to see an improvement in the team’s overall position.
“It’s about performance and that’s key for me,” he explained. “We don’t want to be a good group of guys and be eighth in the world. I’d rather be a challenging group of guys and compete for number one and everyone wants that too, which is great to hear.” . We are all lined up in the right direction, and even though it’s all words, we still have to go out and try to live it, rather than just words coming out of our mouths. I’m happy that the players are happy, but now the hard work begins.
“We want to get on the field and start playing. It’s been a long hiatus, I don’t think the players have had such a long hiatus since school. Even though they’ve been practicing, you (as the coach) want to put that practice into the game experience Some guys have gone over to IPL so they’ll be happy to have some playtime. “
With the country falling to lockdown level 1 as of this week, a return to cricket appears to be in the offing within the confines of South Africa.
Boucher continued: “My biggest hope for the national team when we play again is that we really advance the vision that they (the players) have for themselves. I think we have the talent to do that and if we play that way, we don’t. I have no doubt that there will be success.
“We are going to make some mistakes, we are a young team, but as long as we continue to learn from those mistakes, we will become a better unit. Players are eager to try something different to get different results,” especially when we go to big tournaments.
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
