Johannesburg - Mark Boucher described the result of his final Test series as Proteas head coach as disappointing, lamenting a “missed opportunity,” against England.
Speaking immediately after England had claimed a 2-1 Test series triumph at The Oval - and before he addressed the players about his resignation - Boucher felt the batting had let the team down and cost them the chance of beating England for the first time in 10 years.
“I’m disappointed because I think it's a missed opportunity,” Boucher said on Monday afternoon.
“We played some very good cricket, but then we just didn’t put the runs on the board, so we never quite knew how much we could’ve tested England. We believe we had the bowlers to be able to take 20 wickets, but the bottom line is you’ve got to score runs.”
Boucher informed the players later that the series in England was his last with the Test side and that he would be vacating his post at the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
As for the Test series against England, Boucher sounded sympathetic as he discussed the batting unit’s struggles. “Our guys didn’t go out there and play maverick cricket. We tried really hard, I can see it, the guys are trying really hard, but they fell short with regards to their batting technically. We knew (beforehand) that England had good bowling, we knew we would be tested, unfortunately we just could not stand up to it.”
Sarel Erwee’s 73 in the first Test at Lord’s - which the Proteas won - was the only half-century by a South African batter in the series. By contrast, England scored four half-centuries, while Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes scored hundreds in the second Test in Manchester.
“We always knew we were going to be under pressure if the conditions went around a bit. In South Africa the conditions are different, the ball doesn’t swing, our contact points are a little bit different,” said Boucher.
Inexperience proved costly, with only Dean Elgar among the top six batters having had experience of playing in England before.
“If you look at the last South African team to win in England (in 2012), among the top 7 there were 470 odd Tests. Ten of the batters that batted in this series were on about 170 - so there’s a big difference. The only way you get experience is to actually go out there and play.”
“We backed our batters in conditions where the ball went around a bit, they haven’t come off which became an issue to us. We were forced into a position in the last Test where we had to give opportunities to other guys. You can’t just keep going with the same guys, and they keep failing and it gets into their head as well, they keep trying hard, but it becomes like sinking sand - the harder you try, the quicker you fall. The batting was an issue, our top average was 27, we can’t hide away from it, which is not good and we have to find a way to put it right.”
It won’t be Boucher’s responsibility to do so ahead of the Proteas’ next Test series in Australia. Cricket SA’s Director of Cricket, Enoch Nkwe, must begin the search for a new head coach, and it may be that he appoints someone for the short term for that series.
Whoever it is will have to rebuild the confidence of the batters. “We give the guys freedom to play and to express themselves,” said Boucher.
“It's one thing to say go out there and play freely but there are consequences when guys are fighting for their Test spots and their careers. As much as a coach can say , ‘go out there play with freedom, within your blueprint, and be nice and aggressive and play a good attacking style of cricket,’ it's up to the individual and the character that comes with it, who trusts his defence and really goes out and tries to dominate an attack.”
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