Mark Boucher should resign or be sacked as Proteas coach

Proteas coach Mark Boucher should not be in charge of the national cricket team. His admission to racially offensive behaviour during his Proteas playing days cannot go unchallenged, writes Mark Keohane.

The entitlement Boucher enjoyed as a player is once again evident in an affidavit that takes very little accountability for his action and wants no consequence for the admission that his actions were racially offensive to teammate Paul Adams.

Racially offensive behaviour does not necessarily equate to being a racist, so let me be clear on the distinction.

Boucher insists he is not a racist and his entire affidavit is built around denial of being a racist, but the relevance of being among those players who saw nothing offensive or wrong with calling Adams, a coloured player, ‘Brown sh*t’ isn’t as comfortably wished away as Boucher would want it from his sworn submission to the Social Justice and National Building (SNJ) hearings.

There has to be consequence and some form of sanction for Boucher, whose Proteas are due to depart for a tour of Sri Lanka in the next 48 hours.

SA Cricket Magazine columnist Ryan Vrede wrote: ‘Mark Boucher’s tenure as head coach of the Proteas must end in the wake of him lying about racism, failing to lead decisively on issues of race and Enoch Nkwe’s resignation for being undermined.

‘There were legitimate grounds to fire Boucher on the weakness of his performance as head coach alone. The Proteas have lost seven of 13 series (one tied) since taking charge in late 2019. Nine of those 13 have been played on home soil and one of them was contesting an injury-riddled Sri Lanka.

He was never going to suffer that fate. This, after all, was a man whose appointment adhered to none of Cricket South Africa’s recruitment or hiring protocols and one who his close friend, director of cricket Graeme Smith, handed to him with an unprecedented four-year contract.

‘There is also the significant issue of Enoch Nkwe’s resignation on Monday. TimesLive‘s Tiisetso Malepa reported the Proteas assistant coach “feels undermined, and that he has been reduced to being a ‘cones boy’ in a toxic working environment”.

‘Boucher simply can’t continue in his role. He has betrayed his duty to the nation and team. His time is up.’

Ryan Vrede’s column on why Boucher’s time is up

SA Cricket Magazine reports on Boucher’s affidavits

https://www.sacricketmag.com/boucher-opens-up-on-sjn-allegations-affidavit-apology-1/

Also on www.keo.co.za

Boucher’s silence on Adams is a problem for Proteas