A tale of wilting and blooming Protea teams

South Africa celebrate winning the series during the 3rd Womens T20 International match between Momentum Proteas and Pakistan Women at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on February 03, 2021 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

By Yanga Sibembe

27 Aug 2021

The men’s Proteas side has steadily regressed in recent years and are not the force of international cricket they once were. In contrast, the women’s side is making steady gains.

As both the men’s and women’s Protea teams continue their preparations for big international tournaments on the horizon, the climate in the two camps couldn’t be more contrasting at the moment.

In the men’s team, which is fine-tuning preparations for the T20 World Cup in October, head coach Mark Boucher is under increasing public pressure following allegations of racism levelled against him. In the midst of all this, Boucher’s assistant Enoch Nkwe vacated his position.

In a statement, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said during discussions Nkwe had “raised concerns about the functioning and culture of the team environment”.

The CSA board said it “will be taking the necessary steps to investigate and address” the issues raised by Nkwe.

Boucher has been under the cosh since his name came up during the testimony of former Proteas left-arm unorthodox spinner Paul Adams at CSA’s Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings. Adams testified that he had been nicknamed “Brown Shit” by white teammates, including Boucher.

The Proteas coach has come out to explain alleged incidents of racism that teammates were subjected to by him and others within the Proteas.

“I acknowledge that certain occurrences testified to are true and that they are offensive; certainly with the lens that we use to assess such behaviour now,” said Boucher in a 14-page affidavit to the SJN head, advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza.

“It was not the case at the time. We were young and lacked the maturity and consciousness to know that what we were doing was offensive. With the benefit of knowledge, wisdom and maturity, we should and would have done things differently.”

Proteas captain for limited overs, Temba Bavuma, recently admitted that he’d be lying if he said the current situation and the dark cloud hanging over Boucher was not affecting the team.

“As much as we operate as a team and we try to control everything that is in our circle, those matters do come within the team and it’s important that we deal with it internally and ask whatever hard questions that we need to ask of each other to make sure we can keep growing within the team,” said Bavuma.

Calls are becoming louder that growing the Proteas experience henceforth should be done without Boucher. However, the former Proteas wicket-keeper is probably keen to stay on and lead the country at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

So far in 2021 the Proteas have lost two consecutive T20 series, home and away, against Pakistan. They edged the West Indies 2-1 in July, before thumping Ireland 3-0 away from home.

Now Boucher’s side is preparing for what will probably be a three-match T20 series with Sri Lanka on the subcontinent, before the World Cup starts. That tour will start with three One Day Internationals (ODIs).

The whole team, alongside Boucher, will be under the microscope.

Blooming Proteas

While the men’s side has declined from the force they once were in the 2000s, the women’s team continues to grow from strength and the ambience in coach Hilton Moreeng’s camp couldn’t contrast more than that of their male counterparts.

Despite being made to reapply for his position when his contract expired post the Women’s T20 World Cup, at which the Proteas reached the semi-finals in early 2020, Moreeng has kept his head down and applied himself to the job.

He was retained when CSA said his job application presentation matched their vision for the side going forward.

During his near nine years in charge, Moreeng has coached the Proteas to two semi-finals — the 2017 World Cup in England and the 2020 T20 World Cup. He also steered them to automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand, which is set to take place in March 2022.

He is also drilling his side and used the last couple of tours, where key figures in the team such as captain Dane van Niekerk and allrounder Chloe Tryon were ruled out by injury, to widen his pool of players.

In recent months, the Proteas won successive series — against Pakistan at home and India away, in both the T20 and ODI formats — without those key players.

The duo is back to bolster a team that is eyeing becoming the first senior South African national side to win an International Cricket Council (ICC) competition when they head to New Zealand next year.

“It has been a bit frustrating for both the country and the player,” said Moreeng on Van Niekerk’s return to action.

“We as management worked closely with the injuries she had. It’s been a setback and frustrated us throughout this period. It’s just very exciting to see her back on the field because you know what she brings; she is an all-round cricketer and a very good cricket brain, and we know once she's on the field how she leads a team.”

The women’s team’s tournament preparations see them face off against the West Indies in the Caribbean, starting with three T20 matches from 26 August. This will be followed by five ODIs from 7 September.

Moreeng wants to see further improvement. “The key for both teams will be, [in terms of] the ODIs, they are preparing for the qualifiers and we are preparing for the World Cup, so it’s going to be key for us to improve. It’s going to be slow wickets; they play well on slow wickets and it’s for us to be able to adapt to the slow wickets,” said the 43-year-old coach. DM

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