Ken Borland

It is typical of the negativity and destructiveness of so many in South Africa that even after the Proteas completed an outstanding 3-0 ODI whitewash of India, to go with their remarkable triumph in the Test series, there were still choruses of ‘Boucher Out!’ from many of cricket’s version of the RET faction and the naively woke.

Of course the major reason for those wanting Boucher’s head to roll has got nothing to do with what happens out on the field, which has sadly been a recurring theme in South African cricket for way too long. It is because of alleged racial slurs that date back 20 years to Boucher’s early playing days with the Proteas.

It is highly improbable that Boucher was the only one singing the offensive song in question, so why is he being singled out? Because it is the continuation of the same witch-hunt put in place by the same people who took Cricket South Africa to the brink of ruin before the Fundudzi Report and Stavros Nicolaou’s Interim Board sorted things out.

Of course, justice needs to be done for sins of the past, but when they involve entire teams and took place in a time very different from our own from which we are peering back in judgement, then rough justice will cause more harm than good.

Boucher’s evidence before his disciplinary tribunal will probably point out that, due to the total lack of sensitivity training and the state of society as a whole back in the 1990s, it was not just Paul Adams who had a nasty song written about him (the author of which is apparently a major surprise). The White players were called names too, as were the Black Africans and the Coloureds. For those who have never been in a fines meeting, it is all meant to be about poking fun. However misguided the lyrics were.

But confidence in CSA and their ability to ensure we have a competitive Proteas team will be severely dented if they summarily dismiss Boucher, just as the national side are starting to bloom again.

The last two months have seen not just any team vanquished, but the mighty Indians, the superpowers of the game and ranked No.1 in Tests before being knocked off their perch by South Africa.

To make the triumph even more memorable, the Proteas managed to overturn the previous history between the two teams when it came to playing and bowling spin. India’s spinners were previously able to exert a stranglehold over the South African batsman, including during the February 2018 series over here.

But in this series, the Proteas batsmen were terrific against the turning ball, in conditions that were going to suit the visitors, and they have said much of the credit for that should go to Boucher and batting consultant Justin Sammons.

And then when India batted, they were dominated by Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, with even Aiden Markram keeping them under pressure, to such an extent that South Africa won the crucial middle-overs battle conclusively. The way the Proteas have embraced the use of spin and have become one of the best sides in the world in that department is another reason to commend Boucher, who has instituted a sea-change in strategic thinking.

Boucher’s immense playing experience is obviously helpful to the team as they navigate the varied challenges of the international game, but his knowledge of various team cultures and environments can also serve to help the current team as they forge a new identity.

When Boucher made his debut for the national team in 1997, the culture was pretty rotten with new arrivals treated very much as juniors and a threat to the places of the senior players. He lived through that and learnt from it, and he was also a key part of the Graeme Smith era when the team embraced Protea Fire and made big efforts to become more inclusive.

Getting rid of Boucher now would only serve as an exercise in bloodletting and scapegoating. CSA Boards have a history of giving baying mobs what they want; let’s hope Lawson Naidoo and Co can show stronger leadership at this crucial time.

The misguided few will say Dean Elgar is presiding over the corpse of South African cricket, but the Proteas skipper is adamant that his team can take on India, who he readily admits are the best side in the world, blow-for-blow in the series that starts at Centurion on Boxing Day.

India’s recent victory over New Zealand, winners of the inaugural World Test Championship earlier in the year, returned them to the No.1 ranking, with the Proteas currently languishing in sixth place. But India have never won a series in South Africa and Elgar believes this home ground advantage can give them an edge.

“India have been ranked No.1 for quite some time and, in my opinion, they are the top side, the ranking system is there for a reason,” Elgar said on Friday. “But I think the series will be pretty even and playing at home gives us a bit of an upperhand.

“India have improved a lot in terms of their travelling record and Virat Kohli has put a lot of emphasis on winning on the road. Their dream is to win a series here and as captain I’ll be trying to prevent that.

“It makes it an exciting series and we’re extremely mindful that they will come out firing, but then they know we will too. India’s strength is in their bowling, we’re very aware of their success as a unit.

“I’m sure they will exploit South African conditions well, the pitches do a bit more here than elsewhere around the world, but we’ve also got a very good pace attack. The first punch is going to be important,” Elgar said.

Selecting the right attack is going to be a complex issue for the Proteas because, in their expanded squad, they have eight different pace bowling options. But while South Africa have historically been biased towards using the fast men, Elgar all but confirmed that spinner Keshav Maharaj will play at SuperSport Park.

“It’s my home ground and conditions have changed a bit, there is sometimes some turn,” Elgar said. “We want to set the game up for days four and five, when hopefully the pitch will deteriorate a bit.

“Keshav will then come into play and he’s so adaptable that he doesn’t just contain, but he can also be a wicket-taker, a strike bowler at the right time. He’s been pretty amazing for us and we can’t neglect him.

“There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing the pace attack, but we will try to tie in with the style of play we’re trying to implement. We have the luxury of an extended squad so we are able to tick all the boxes.

“I like to think we have all our bases covered in terms of selection. It’s a good headache to have, we can exploit a few options. But I still favour having a spinner in the attack,” Elgar said.

SuperSport Park has been the site of some high scoring in domestic cricket lately, but Proteas captain Dean Elgar knows his batting line-up will “be up against it” in the first Test against India which starts at Centurion on Boxing Day.

In the last four-day match played at SuperSport Park, when the Northerns Titans drew with the KZN Dolphins, 983 runs were scored for the loss of just 21 wickets, with 12 batsmen getting past 40 and two centuries being scored.

“Although there’s been quite a lot of rain recently, Centurion has had a pretty good pitch of late and if you apply yourself as a batsman, put away some shots, then you can get runs under the belt,” Elgar said of his home ground.

But India possess one of the best attacks in world cricket, coming up against a South African batting line-up that is yet to reach its full potential.

“If there’s some extra pace and bounce in the pitch then bowlers can exploit the conditions and there’s always a bit of spice in South Africa, especially on the Highveld.

“India have an immensely improved bowling attack, especially away from home, and we are going to be up against it, but we’re perfectly comfortable with that.

“We feel comfortable at home and it’s going to be tough for India’s batsmen too against our attack. I’d rather be in our changeroom than their’s,” Elgar said.

Elgar led the batting averages for the Proteas the last time India were here, scoring 207 runs at 41.40, in early 2018. South Africa won that series 2-1, but this time there is no AB de Villiers or Hashim Amla or Faf du Plessis. The left-handed opener will have to lead the way again with the bat.

“I naturally always want to lead from the front with the bat and scoring runs is a massive role of mine, let alone being the captain. I will never run away from that responsibility and hopefully I average a little more this series,” Elgar said.

“I know we have a relatively inexperienced batting line-up, but they have an opportunity to take, which is what professional cricket is all about. Either they take it or there are other guys knocking on the door.

“It’s always tough against one of the best attacks in the world. We need to prepare well against the Indian attack, but I believe we are not far away from batsmen coming in and cementing their places.

“India have a well-balanced attack that covers all the bases. So mentally we really need to tap in, being mentally ready is extremely important for me,” Elgar said.

In what could unfortunately become the norm in coming years, 60% of South Africa’s cricket matches in 2021 were T20 internationals, but the Proteas did show an encouraging run of form in the format, culminating in an unfortunate early departure from the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

South Africa played 23 T20s in 2021 and won 15 of them, making them one of the most successful teams globally over the last year in that format. Considering that they began the year by losing home and away T20 series against Pakistan 2-1 and 3-1, it meant they won 13 of their last 16 matches, an impressive achievement.

The turnaround happened when the Proteas went to the West Indies and beat the defending T20 World Cup champions in that series. With a more settled squad and confidence growing, Ireland could not handle them and were swept aside 3-0, and nor could Sri Lanka, who were also whitewashed on their home turf.

South Africa went into the T20 World Cup in form and they were unlucky to not qualify for the semi-finals having lost just one game in the group stage. That was to Australia in their opening match when a below-par batting performance on an unhelpful pitch for strokeplay left the valiant Proteas attack with just a little too much to do.

Despite South Africa then upsetting the previously unbeaten England team, Australia’s nett run-rate was just a little better than their’s and the eventual champions snuck through.

Wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was the main man behind South Africa’s T20 success and he took 36 wickets in 22 matches in 2021 at an average of just 13.36 and an economy rate of 5.72; amazing figures that saw him ranked the No.1 T20 bowler in the world for much of the year.

Aiden Markram was a revelation in the shortest format and was the leading run-scorer for the Proteas in T20s in 2021 with 570 at 43.84 and a strike-rate of 148.82. Second to him was Quinton de Kock (524 at 43.66, SR 131.32), a man who hogged the headlines for much of the year.

De Kock was man of the series, with brilliant innings of 141 not out and 96, as South Africa won both Tests in the West Indies, which was the turning point of their year. He also made an ODI century in Ireland.

But it was a day on which he did not take the field which created the most stir. CSA’s board rashly decided to issue a directive that all players must take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter on the morning of their crucial T20 World Cup game against the West Indies. It is an issue that the Proteas had discussed at length without coming to a united way of showing support, but the board made a sudden and unilateral decision without consultation. De Kock opted not to play rather than make the prescribed gesture.

Fortunately all parties then talked it out and, going forward, the national team will all take the knee.

Other players to make strong statements on the field during 2021 were fast bowler Anrich Nortje, potent in the Test matches and one of the best bowlers at the T20 World Cup; Markram across formats and with encouraging gains in his back-up off-spin; Rassie van der Dussen, who finally made his maiden Proteas century with his 123* in an ODI versus Pakistan; Keshav Maharaj, who also led impressively in white-ball cricket when Temba Bavuma was injured; and David Miller, who played some matchwinning innings in limited-overs cricket.