Few players will have taken more satisfaction out of South Africa A’s seven-wicket victory over England than Mark Boucher

Andrew Miller17-Dec-2004Few players will have taken more satisfaction out of South Africa A’s seven-wicket victory over England than Mark Boucher. He was recently dumped from the Test team in favour of Thami Tsolekile, after 75 consecutive Tests as South Africa’s wicketkeeper, but responded to the slight with five comfortable catches and a bloody-minded 26 not out from 74 balls. He spoke to Andrew Miller before the first Test.

Mark Boucher in relaxed mood© Getty Images
The result against England must have been very satisfying for you.
Very much so. I’ve played for South Africa A once before, but this was a new side with a lot of talented guys, and all of us are keen to get into the national team. There was a good vibe throughout, we stuck to our guns, and it was nice to get a win at the end of it.But personally, it must have meant a huge deal. That much was clear from your batting.
Yeah, it was a bit more of a tentative innings than I usually play. I didn’t go out there saying that I was going to block every ball, but the bowlers found good areas, and I was batting at the time with Albie Morkel, a youngster who hits the ball very sweetly and was caning it to all corners of the park. I just had to sit back on my bat, take a few singles, and play a more stable role from the other end. Unfortunately we lost a few wickets later on, but I was just happy to spend time in the middle.Do you think you succeeded in making one or two points to the selectors?
I don’t go out to make points. I go out to play to win, and it was job accomplished.Even so, it must have been a big shock to have been dropped after 75 consecutive Tests?
Yes, it was a big disappointment, one of the biggest of my career. But it’s not the first time I’ve suffered disappointment, there’ve been a couple of occasions like that in the past. I’m a firm believer that you can only really judge a character by what they are like when the chips are down. I believe I’m a fighter, and I’ll be trying my best to get back in that side, by putting in some big performances. I’m not about to give up.I guess it all stems back to South Africa’s terrible tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year. What happened to the team out there?
A lot of things happened! The bottom line is we lost, but we did come up against a really tough side. Sri Lanka are not the sort of team you just walk all over, especially in those conditions. We were lacking one or two spinners, and our batsmen just didn’t click, but the wickets they prepare were never going to suit our seam-based attack. That’s how sides like that try to beat us. They take away our pace, and back themselves to take 20 wickets with their spinners.Graeme Smith made some comments at the time that you were “no better than club cricketers”. Was that a fair assessment?
I don’t know about club cricketers. But Graeme’s got his theories about how the team went. I just thought we were outplayed.As one of the senior members in a changing side, do you think you were singled out as a scapegoat?
I don’t know. You tell me. I really don’t know. I’m not present at those selection meetings and I don’t get to hear what’s said about me. I just try to control what I can control. I can’t control selection, I can’t control what happens in the media. All I can control is what happens out in the middle. At the end of the day, I’ve been dropped. I’ve just got to pick myself up and get back in the side.Given your record against England, you must have been hopeful of a recall.
If I said no, I’d be lying. Yes, I did expect to be back. I’d had quite a good SuperSport Series back home, and I thought I kept very well as well. So yeah, I had my hopes up for the first Test. It didn’t happen, which was another disappointment, but the sun came up the next morning, and I got selected for SA A side instead. It was a chance to prove my worth, and we won the game, which is great.

Mark Boucher has had success against England in the past© Heeger
Do you get the impression that England are glad not to be facing you?
I really don’t know! I haven’t spoken to any of them. But I’ve had a bit of success against them in the past which is always nice. I believe they are a very good side – especially their bowling attack, which will be a handful on these tracks. But Thami’s a good keeper and a good batter as well, so I wish him all the bestHe was your understudy in England last year. Have you given him any advice?
I don’t like to get involved. Ray Jennings is the coach now, and he’s probably the best wicketkeeper we’ve had in this country. So any advice will come from him. I sent Thami a text message before they went to India, wishing him good luck and telling him if there’s anything he needs, give me a shout. But I don’t want to stick my fingers into the national camp at the moment. They’ve got more important things to worry about.The coach has given you his backing though, which must be ncouraging.
Yeah, Ray’s spoken to me once or twice, telling me to keep going. But from his point of view, it’s important that there are guys coming up to challenge the people in the national side. They’ve got to be kept on their toes, and not allowed to rest on their laurels, thinking that there’s no-one behind them. Because there is, and after the result in this game, there’s going to be even more pressure on the national side to perform. That’s not a bad thing at all. It shows the depth in South African cricket.One of the big issues in your cricket is the current lack of fast bowlers. As a keeper, you’re in a good position to judge them.
This pitch at Potchefstroom is one of the quickest I’ve played on all season, and it just goes to show that you don’t need extreme pace to take wickets. Charl [Langeveldt] wasn’t slow, but he swung the ball, and as long as you do that, it’s always going to be difficult to play, never mind how quick and bouncy the wicket. I doubt if St George’s will be like that, having played there before, but as long as you’re doing something with the ball – either running in at 150kph, or swinging it at 135 – it’s going to be tough for the batters.Have you seen much of Dale Steyn?
I’ve played against him once. He’s got some good wheels, he swings the ball nicely and late as well. He’s young and he’s raw, and I believe he could take some time to find his feet, but he’s also the sort of guy who can run in and get you a five-wicket haul. If he puts enough balls in the right area, he’ll be a handful.You’re the underdogs for once in a England v South Africa series. What’s your take on that?
Of the series that I’ve played in, we lost over there in 1998, won over here in 1999-2000, and then in 2003 we were in position to win, but somehow lost the last Test through some poor cricket, despite being 380 for 2 after the first day. Overall we’ve had the upper hand, but I don’t read too much into us being underdogs this time. England in England are a very good side and have had some success, but they haven’t played over here for a few years now, and they haven’t played in Australia for a while either. We have some depth, and with several guys pushing for national selection, I just hope that they don’t take us too lightly.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo. He will be following England’s fortunes throughout their Test series in South Africa.