Independent on Saturday

Proteas sizzle to clinch series in Boland heat

STUART HESS stuart.hess@inl.co.za mike.greenaway@inl.co.za ZAAHIER ADAMS AT BOLAND PARK zaahier.adams@inl.co.za India: 287/6 (R Pant 85, KL Rahul 55, Thakur 40*, Shamsi 2/57, Markram 1/34) South Africa: 288/3 (Malan 91, De Kock 78, Thakur 1/35, Bumrah 1/

CRICKET South Africa is putting the squeeze on Mark Boucher, contending an “irretrievable breakdown in the trust relationship” between the Proteas head coach and the organisation.

In the charge sheet, which was handed to Boucher on Monday, Cricket SA states it will be seeking his dismissal as Proteas coach before the disciplinary inquiry that will be chaired by advocate Terry Motau SC.

The charges include Boucher’s failure in dealing with the Black Lives Matter issues in a more prudent manner, his lack of support for former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, and the findings made in the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report, related to Paul Adams.

Adams testified before the SJN last year that Boucher was one of a group of teammates that called him “brown sh***t,” in a song sung in the South African changeroom during a tour to England in 1998. Cricket SA describe Boucher’s behaviour as “unbecoming of an employee in your position”.

“It is alleged that you committed gross misconduct in that you: repeatedly used racist and/ or offensive and/or inappropriate utterances regarding Mr Adams, your Proteas team-mate; having had your racist and/or offensive and/or inappropriate utterances drawn to your attention, you failed to adequately and/or sufficiently and/ or appropriately apologise for these utterances and/or acknowledge the racist nature of these utterances and/or the hurt that they caused.”

The charge sheet states further that Boucher conducted himself “in a racist or subliminally racist manner by failing to acknowledge the impact of your conduct towards Mr Adams thereby exacerbating the offence of racism, bearing in mind your current position as the coach of the national team, which places you in a position of leadership and responsibility”.

Cricket SA further outlined that when the Black Lives Matter issue arose, Boucher caused division among the players, alienating many in the process. “When dealing with the BlackLivesMatter issue and the question of “taking the knee”, you allegedly dealt with the white players’ concerns and requested that the team manager (who is black) deal with the black players’ concerns.”

The Proteas have only recently started taking the knee before matches following a directive from Cricket SA’s Board. The players had previously engaged in a mish-mash of initiatives that included raising a fist before a Test match with Sri Lanka and then, during the West Indies tour last year, some players knelt while the majority of white players stood, some with their fists raised.

Nkwe was also drawn into the charge sheet, with CSA claiming Boucher showed poor management in his relationship with his former assistant.

“You allegedly did not formalise any documented ‘roles and responsibilities’ or meaningful KPIs for the assistant coach, Mr Nkwe; you allegedly did not provide any specific or sufficiently specific and defined role for Mr Nkwe and no ‘personal development plans’ were documented or implemented for Mr Nkwe; and you allegedly treated Mr Nkwe in a manner unbecoming of a leader in your position.”

When Nkwe shocked the local cricket fraternity last year with his resignation from the Proteas, he cited among other things, “concerns about the functioning and culture of the team environment”. Nkwe’s allegations formed part of an internal inquiry conducted under the auspices of current acting chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki.

MIKE GREENAWAY

THE Sharks resume their United Rugby Championship campaign in Johannesburg today and the 3pm kick-off means the conditions could be just as much of an adversary as a Lions team that smashed the Stormers in their last outing.

The adverse effect of playing at an elevation of 1753m for coastal teams has long been debated in sporting circles. While the coastal coaches try to downplay it for fear of it becoming a psychological block, it definitely is a factor, especially in the first 20 minutes or so and the last quarter as well when the lungs are screaming for oxygen.

And it becomes just that more of a factor when the kick-off is an early one, as it is today (3pm) when the heat is added to the lack of oxygen in the rarefied atmosphere.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt acknowledges the challenge but says that his team has a plan.

“It is difficult and a 3pm kick-off does make a difference but we are not going to make an adjustment to how we play (an attacking game),” he said. “We have a plan we are taking up to Joburg. During the week we do a lot of preparation from a hydration point of view as that can catch you later in the

SOUTH Africa’s coach Mark Boucher may be at the centre of a racial storm after being charged by Cricket SA for “improper conduct” this week, but his team has certainly rediscovered the art of winning.

It remains anyone’s guess whether Boucher will survive the inquest which will be headed by Senior Counsel

Advocate Terry Motau. Until that stage though he will have the opportunity of savouring a rare home “double” over India after the Proteas clinched the ODI series at a steaming Boland Park.

It was the openers Quinton de Kock (78) and Janneman Malan (91) that set up a comfortable run chase with the pair posting a 132-run stand in just 22 overs.

De Kock benefitted from a reprieve when India’s top-scorer Rishabh Pant missed a regulation stumping early on, but from there the Proteas wicketkeeper reminded everyone of his dynamism at the crease.

He immediately slog-swept the next ball for six over mid-wicket – one of his three maximums on the day – and continued to play with all the freedom that has been lacking throughout the summer.

It was actually evident from early on when De Kock greeted

Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six and two boundaries in his first over.

With De Kock in such a rampant mood there was no need for his partner Malan to take any undue risks. The now local Paarl boy was content to play second fiddle and brought up a timely half century in 66 balls. In contrast De Kock required 30 balls less for his milestone.

It was only after De Kock’s dismissal for 78 when he missed a full toss from Shardul Thakur that Malan began to express himself a bit more.

This included a delightful drive on the up that sped to the boundary in a flash. The only pity in this near faultless innings was that it did not culminate in three figures with Malan eventually departing for 91.

Although captain Temba Bavuma (35) fell just two runs later to leave South Africa still requiring 74 runs for victory with seven wickets remaining, there was no need for concern with Aiden Markram (37 not out) and Rassie van der Dussen (37 not out) comfortably closing out the series.

Earlier, South Africa’s bowlers had put in a solid shift to ensure India never really got away despite some shoddy catching from the hosts on occasion.

India’s captain KL Rahul benefited to post a solid 55, while Pant thrilled with a 71-ball 85.

However, they needed a much more substantial innings from their set batters especially after former captain Virat Kohli disappointed with a duck.

Ultimately, South Africa seemed to be the side that wanted this victory more and will now head to Newlands for a dead rubber with renewed confidence flowing through their veins.

Under any normal circumstances it would be a time to rejoice, but unfortunately there remains a bitter taste with the dark cloud hanging over Boucher.

THREE-TIME Afcon champions Nigeria, with three wins in a row, have a championship look about them after the completion of the group phase at the 2022 edition in Cameroon.

Nigeria have been drawn against the 2004 Afcon champs Tunisia when the Round of 16 knockout stage kicks off tomorrow.

The notable absentees from the knockout stage are African powerhouses Ghana and Algeria, the defending champions. Ghana and Algeria’s exit has been the biggest shock of the tournament to date.

Algeria arrived in Cameroon with an unbeaten run of 35 matches stretching back to 2018. They were two games shy of Italy’s world record of 37 matches unbeaten. Algeria managed one win in three Group E outings and ended bottom of the standings.

One of the biggest surprises in the Round of 16 are debutants Gambia who defeated Tunisia 1-0 on Thursday. The West African country reached the Afcon finals for the first time in 69 years. They completed their Group F assignments undefeated and finished runners-up.

Unlike most African countries, the national and most popular sport in the Gambia is wrestling.

Comoros Islands is the other surprise team to reach the knockout stage. They shocked Ghana on Tuesday and were allocated one of the four places reserved for the best third-place finishers.

The plum Round of 16 fixture will be Ivory Coast versus Mo Salah’s Egypt, who were outclassed by Nigeria in the opening Group D match. This tie will be played on the final day of Round of 16 matches, next Wednesday.

The Pharaohs of Egypt, record eighttime cup winners, have a fine record against the Ivory Coast, winning 11 times, drawing thrice, and losing seven times in 21 meetings since 1970.

Ivory Coast was one of eight teams undefeated after the completion of the group phase.

Besides Ghana and Algeria, the other six teams on their way home are Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Mauritania. Originally 24 teams in six groups started the finals in Cameroon, two weeks ago.

All the first place and second place finishers of the group stage qualified for the 16-team knockout round, with the four best third-placed teams.

Hosts Cameroon scored the most goals of the group stage with seven. Cameroon skipper Vincent Aboubakar is the leading goalscorer with five goals. He scored in each of the three group phase matches. Ibrahima Kone of Mali is next on the leading goalscorers’ chart.

Senegal, the Group B log leaders was the only team to reach the knockout stages without conceding a goal while Nigeria was the only team with a 100% record in the group phase.

ROUND OF 16 SCHEDULE

Tomorrow: Burkina Faso v Gabon, Nigeria v Tunisia

Monday, 24 Jan: Guinea v Gambia, Cameroon v Comoros

Tuesday, 25 Jan: Senegal v Cape Verde, Morocco v Malawi

Wednesday, 26 Jan: Cote d’Ivoire v Egypt, Mali v Equatorial Guinea

SPORT

en-za

2022-01-22T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-22T08:00:00.0000000Z

http://independentonsaturday.pressreader.com/article/281797107371864

African News Agency