Boucher upset Tests being downgraded
Former Proteas coach Mark Boucher has become the latest person to express disappointment about Cricket SA (CSA) prioritising the SA20 over the Test series against New Zealand.
Cricket SA has been under criticism after naming a rookieheavy Proteas squad to take on New Zealand in the series. The first Test will start on February 4 and the second on February 14.
The Proteas were forced to name a largely inexperienced squad because most local players are taking part in the SA20. The SA20, which is in its second season, is crucial to the coffers of CSA, which is expected to do everything to ensure it succeeds. The team will be captained by uncapped Neil Brand, with almost half the team set to play international cricket for the first time.
Speaking to SportsBoom.com, Boucher questioned CSA’s “unacceptable” schedule and suggested the federation should re-evaluate its scheduling practices.
“I am extremely disappointed,” Boucher said. “It’s got nothing to do with the players. You can’t blame the players that have been selected or the players that are not going. The scheduling needs to be looked at by Cricket SA. I don’t think it is acceptable.
“If I were New Zealand Cricket, I ’ d be quite disappointed. I understand them not wanting to pull out as well because the World Test Championship points are at stake,” he said. “But I do think that we in SA need to sit down, have a hard look at ourselves, at the scheduling, and find a way to make it right.”
Boucher added: “SA20 is good for the public watching. It is very well supported, but we can’t have that in place of a Test series against a very strong New Zealand team away from home. I know I’m not alone, there are probably a lot of guys who would speak about it as passionately as me.”
● Western Province opener Ed Moore has been added to the squad for the tour. He is the eighth uncapped player to be added to the tour party.
Moore, 30, is an experienced first-class campaigner who has played more than 100 matches in a professional career.
He averages just over 40 and has been a steady contributor for both WP, who he joined ahead of the 2022/23 season, and his previous team the Warriors in the Eastern Cape.