How sore is the Boucher blow for South Africa - Opinion
Mark Boucher’s sudden and unfortunate retirement from test cricket is considered to be a major setback for South African Cricket. His archetypal attributes, which are typically South African in nature have helped his side regain confidence on the international front, where occasionally they would falter to outlandish pressure over the years in white clothing.
His gutsy efforts both with the gloves and the bat, with a total of 555 dismissals behind the stumps to his name, have made him one of the most formidable glovemen that the game has ever seen. His experience with the bat, where a 30 or 40 odd helps to seal a tight game for South Africa is significant enough.
For a player whose name is inscribed alongside the biblical names of South African cricket such as Jonty Rhodes, Alan Donald, Lance Klusener, Brian Mcmillan and Shaun Pollock, he will definitely be missed. With the 2012 heavy weight series between the resurgent English side and the determined South African side around the corner, South Africa will be severely handicapped without him due to a plethora of reasons.
South Africa’s rise to second in the ICC test rankings is a product of consistent performances, both home and abroad, from all three departments. Their four pronged pace attack, with the likes of Steyn, Philander, Morkel and occasionally Tsotsobe, has sent opposing batsmen back into the ranks on numerous occasions.
Aided with the batting flare of A.B. De Villiers, the calm approach of Kallis and the resilience of Amla, South Africa have never looked a more formidable unit which could challenge this mighty English side, which has won two Ashes series in a row. Yet what is normally sidelined when analyzing South Africa is the prowess of a gutsy wicket keeper, who manages to take thunder bolts deployed by Dale Steyn and snaps catches when Botha and Tahir manage to turn the ball a mile.
His importance as a key figure for South Africa, where he is constantly jeeing up his side when the chips are down, is indispensable to this Proteas side, which is about to take on the Poms. South Africa had won the last encounter between the two sides in 2008 and Boucher was a key player on both fronts. He may not have been the most important player, where his presence dictates the outcomes of games, but his experience and wicket keeping skills were crucial in securing a 2-1 score line.
Experience comes from endurance for any cricketer. Saeed Anwar’s rise as Pakistan’s most prolific opener of all time for example, can in part be explained in light of a series of follies he committed, where his fallacious technique fell prey to castigation.
The 1998 series between England and South Africa was a similar case for a young Mark Boucher, who had to sway with a fuming Alan Donald settling scores with Mike Atherton. That was Trent Bridge in Nottingham, where the then fastest bowler in the world made the ball talk, much to the dismay of the glove man behind who was expected to take every catch.
The Donald legacy may not have evaded South African cricket with the arrival of Dale Steyn, but the grooming and experience of keeping wickets in testing conditions will truly evade South Africa in the upcoming series. South Africa doesn’t seem to have a replacement and definitely not someone who could fill in Boucher’s shoes, regardless of de Villiers’s occasional brilliance behind the stumps.
The blow that Boucher got on his eye at Taunton by a bail that struck him to the point of having himself hospitalized is thus, more than just a blow. It could be a series decider. With AB de Villiers to keep wickets in the first test at the Oval and Thami Tsolekile under consideration for the latter part of the series, South Africa would miss a wealth of experience behind the stumps, which could prove to be pivotal.
For England, Matt Prior may not be as good as Boucher, but a specialist wicket keeper in an adrenaline charged series, where the victor goes to number one on the rankings, is something England should feel comfortable with - South Africa on the other hand, not so.
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