Mark Boucher has been appointed as coach of the Multiply Titans, winner of all three domestic titles the past two seasons. He will replace the successful Rob Walter, who recently left the Titans to join the Otago Volts as head coach.
Boucher’s Test career was terminated by default rather than by design as he was hit in the eye by a bail in a warm-up game on the tour to England in 2012. He was in the South African changing room for 14 years, representing the Proteas in 147 Tests and 295 One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
As a wicket-keeper he finished with a world-class record of 532 catches and 23 stumpings and established a career as one of the finest glove-men in the recent history of the game.
Boucher loved the scrap, the heat of the battle. He lived for the big moments of the game. When the chips were down, Boucher was at his best.
It was evident in the second Test of his career when he established a world-record 195-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Pat Symcox at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium.
Boucher was orthodox as a batsman, and could hold his own against any fast-bowling attack, striking 5 515 test runs at an average of 30.30.
He was a free-flowing batsman who could play shots all around the park, and he didn’t mind the hostile chin music. In fact, he would regularly hook or pull dismissively for four.
Boucher lost the lens, the iris and the pupil of his left eye in that freak accident that terminated his cricketing career in 2012.
Since then, he has launched a conservation project in conjunction with South African Breweries, which aims to raise funds to register rhinos on a national DNA database so that they can be tracked down if poached.
“I am stoked by the opportunity to get back into domestic cricket. Upon my retirement, I realised I would not be able to play the game any longer, but to be involved in the capacity as coach of a domestic power house like the Multiply Titans is thrilling,” said Boucher.
“I would like to fully utilise the opportunity to develop the skills of the Titans squad even more. Rob has left behind an enormous legacy, and it willd be big boots to fill.
“But my challenge is to leave my own footprint and to make a seamless transition in association with a mature and enormously determined group of stars,” he added.
“We are privileged to gain the experience and the astute leadership and knowledge of one of the legends of South Africa as our senior coach,” said Jacques Faul, chief executive of the Multiply Titans.
“We believe it is the perfect fit. We naturally play an explosive brand of cricket. Boucher never shirked his responsibilities in the eye of the storm. He believed that the best form of defence was to attack. And he did so on countless occasions when the circumstances demanded defiance,” said Faul.
“He will be an asset to the Titans and we are looking at Boucher to entrench our position as a domestic cricketing leader on and off the field.”
