CSA board agrees on two coaches to replace Boucher

● Outgoing Proteas coach Mark Boucher will be replaced by two coaches.

Boucher will step down after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that is underway in Australia to reach its highly-anticipated climax next Sunday.

This after the Proteas legend accepted a lucrative coaching job at the Indian Premier League (IPL) giants, Mumbai Indians.

Following Boucher’s resignation,

Cricket South Africa (CSA) bosses CEO Pholetsi Moseki and director of cricket Enoch Nkwe seriously considered splitting the extremely demanding role into two coaches and sent the request for approval to their superiors.

The Sunday Times has been reliably informed that the CSA board, after a month of deliberation, has approved Moseki and Nkwe’s request.

The national team will now have one coach for limited overs formats and another fully dedicated to red-ball cricket. “Everything has been approved. The national team will have two coaches and the CSA management is really happy that this has been given a green light and now they will start the search for the new coaches,” said the source.

However, Nkwe didn’t confirm or deny what the Sunday Times informant said, as he said CSA was only planning to advertise for Boucher’s replacement at the end of last week or early next week.

Last month, Nkwe told this publication they were planning to advertise for two positions next month, but still needed to jump through a few hoops, including the money issue.

The national team will now have one coach for limited overs formats and another for red-ball cricket

By splitting coaching roles, SA is following in the footsteps of the England Cricket Board who have done this and have since enjoyed great success.

Having one person in charge of both formats is said to be quite overwhelming for the coach and support staff. They spend a lot of time being away from their families and that is not good for their well-being.

It was said that CSA’s unhealthy financial situation would be a stumbling block for deciding on two coaches. But things are looking up for CSA because of the new SA20 League starting in January, which promises to be a money-spinner for the troubled association.

This past week, SA20 signed an exciting 10-year partnership with India’s sports network Viacom18 to broadcast the tournament in that country.

CSA will also be expected to explain the issue of supporting staff for those coaches, but they are likely to use National Academy staff in supporting structures.

While searching for the new coaches, Malibongwe Maketa will lead the Proteas as interim coach in their three-match Test series against Australia Down Under from December 17 to January 8.

Maketa, the South Africa A coach and National Academy head, has been tipped to be one of the coaches to take over from Boucher.

Apart from being the SA A coach, Maketa was also the assistant to former Proteas coach Ottis Gibson between 2017 and 2019. He cut his teeth at franchise level when he coached the Warriors in the Eastern Cape.

Geoffrey Toyana, the current assistant coach at the Titans and one of the most successful Lions mentors, last month confirmed to the Sunday Times his interest in the Proteas top job.

Toyana has been linked with the Proteas job since 2017 when Gibson was appointed and in 2020 when Boucher took over.

The names of Warriors head coach Robin Petersen, Lions coach Wandile Gwavu and the Titans’ Mandla Mashimbyi have also been mentioned as candidates who have what it takes to lead the national team to success.

All three men have achieved major successes with their provinces — and to coach for their country would be a dream for each of them.