Johannesburg - Enoch Nkwe said that after some initial awkwardness, he and Proteas head coach, Mark Boucher held a fruitful meeting on Thursday, with both believing they were now in the best positions to help the national side to be successful.
Nkwe, Cricket SA’s new Director of Cricket, is now essentially Boucher’s boss having previously had to answer to him as Proteas assistant before controversially resigning from the position in August last year.
“I hadn’t seen Mark since last August and at first it was a bit strange – it had been a long time since I’d engaged with him on a personal level,” said Nkwe.
“We had a great meeting. A lot of people will speak about the fact that there were deeper issues. Mark and I have a good relationship, there is nothing personal, it was very evident yesterday when we met for more than an hour – we even ended up laughing – he is also excited to be working with me.”
It has been a tumultuous relationship between the pair, with Boucher being appointed head coach after Nkwe had thought he’d be given more time in the job after playing an acting role in that position on a tour to India in 2019. It was revealed at the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings last year, that Nkwe had expressed his disappointment at being overlooked for the role.
Then came his resignation in which he cited concerns about the culture in the national team, and following that his name was used as part of charges drawn up by Cricket SA against Boucher with the organisation seeking Boucher’s axing.
Those charges were all subsequently dropped before a disciplinary hearing could occur.
“The meeting was awesome. I was glad to meet in person before the team left, it’s not ideal to speak on the phone and speak about the best way forward. Yesterday we all walked away with smiles on our faces, there’s a lot of excitement.”
“We went to such lengths that it ended up where we felt that I was in the best position now to help us get the best out of each other. I want to give him as much support as possible, to be successful as a coach.”
Nkwe also met with the Proteas team before they left for England, describing those engagements as positive. He will hold further meetings with the team and the Proteas women’s side when he heads to England in a few weeks time.
Nkwe replaced Graeme Smith as Director of Cricket. His contract is for five years.
IOL Sport