Gqeberha — Proteas coach Mark Boucher has indicated that he “it would be nice to compete against them [England and Australia], but we will have to see what happens in the future” after his team closed off their home summer with a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh in Gqeberha on Monday.
The Proteas next Test assignments are bumper tours to England and Australia. However, despite overseeing a hugely-successful season that has seen the Proteas win five of their seven Tests, Boucher’s future with the national team remains in jeopardy.
The 46-year-old still has the dark cloud of gross misconduct charges following Cricket South Africa's Social Justice and Nation-building (SJN) hearings last year hanging over his head. He will defend himself next month at the disciplinary hearings.
The claims relate to the former national wicket-keeper’s involvement in alleged racial discrimination against his former Proteas teammate Paul Adams during their playing days and the management of his former coaching assistant Enoch Nkwe.
"The person that I am, I'm very competitive. You want to judge yourself against the best teams in the world. We've played against the two best sides of recent times in India and New Zealand,” Boucher said.
“They were hard-fought series, which is good because that's where your competitive spirit shows and we did well. It's always tough in England. It would be nice to compete against them, but we'll see what happens in future."
The Proteas’ success this past season has seen them climb up to No 2 on the ICC Test championship ladder with a home series win over India and drawn series away to New Zealand among the highlights.
Boucher admitted, though, that he could not fully celebrate these achievements due to everything else that he has needed to contend with off the field.
"Yes, the past few months have been tough. I've really enjoyed coaching the guys. On the cricketing side of things, we've got a very tight unit coming together. I've enjoyed being around them and seeing their development," he said.
"Outside of that, it would be quite difficult for me to say that I've enjoyed (my job). That's just being honest. I don't think anyone in my situation can enjoy things with what's been put on my plate. I've enjoyed the cricket things. That's it."
IOL Sport