South African head coach Mark Boucher will leave his job after the T20 World Cup in October and November, Cricket South Africa announced on Monday.
Boucher, appointed in controversial circumstances in 2019, was due to be in charge until the end of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
His shock decision means that South Africa have to appoint a new head coach before a challenging Test tour of Australia in December, which could be crucial to the country’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June 2023.
According to CSA’s statement, Boucher has decided to resign “in order to pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives.
“While Cricket SA greatly regrets that Mr Boucher is unable to see out the term of his contract, it respects his decision and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Boucher survived criticism of his appointment in December 2019 by former captain Graeme Smith without a formal recruitment process, and charges of racism levelled by CSA after what were termed Social Justice and Nation Building hearings into alleged racism in South African cricket.
The charges were later dropped and CSA issued a statement giving its full support to Boucher.
The former Test wicketkeeper was in…
