Ken Borland

Cricket South Africa’s failure to find witnesses willing to testify against Mark Boucher was the most telling blow to the disciplinary proceedings against their men’s national coach that they abandoned on Tuesday, with the message from the embattled former wicketkeeper/batsman being that he hopes he can now just focus on the Proteas’ on-field performance.

Following the decisions of both Paul Adams and Enoch Nkwe to not take part in the disciplinary hearing, where their allegations would have been cross-examined, CSA announced on Tuesday that their “lawyers engaged with various other potential witnesses over the last month and concluded that none of the three charges [against Boucher] were sustainable.”

CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki issued a conciliatory statement and sources close to Boucher indicated that he also wanted to put the whole imbroglio behind him.

“CSA appreciates that it has been very difficult for Mark to deal with these charges hanging over his head over the last few months. CSA regrets this,” Moseki said.

“CSA is also appreciative of the fact that Mark has at all times conducted himself properly and professionally – refusing to be drawn into public debates about the charges and carrying out his duties with commitment and dedication.

“The performance of the Proteas men’s team over this period has been extremely impressive, particularly in the Test arena, and this speaks to the efforts of Mark, his support staff and the players,” Moseki said.

Boucher will thus see out the remainder of his contract as Proteas head coach, which runs until after the World Cup in November 2023, and is eager for there to be détente now between him and CSA.

“It’s all systems go and everything has been normalised as far as Mark is concerned,” a source close to Boucher told The Citizen on condition of anonymity.

“He wants to put cricket first now, just focus on his job as a coach. He is hoping that cricket will be the only focus now.”

Boucher admitted that CSA’s efforts to cut him adrift had severely discomfited him. While trying to stabilise the Proteas team following the tumultuous events of 2019, Boucher also had to fight a war, raging over his own head, against his employers.

“The last few months have been extremely difficult to endure for me and my family,” Boucher said in a statement. “I am glad the process has finally come to an end and that CSA has accepted that the charges against me are unsustainable.

“The allegations of racism that were levelled against me were unjustified and have caused me considerable hurt and anguish,” Boucher said.