Mark Boucher says his team deserved the right to pick fringe players in their final Ram Slam game. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
Titans coach Mark Boucher has rubbished suggestions that he gifted the Dolphins a victory in the final round of Ram Slam fixtures at the weekend.
The former Proteas wicketkeeper had picked most of his fringe players because his team had already booked their semifinal place.
As a result, the Titans lost by 89 runs at Kingsmead, allowing their opponents to claim a bonus point and second spot on the log.
The Cape Cobras are allegedly quite unhappy because it meant they missed out on a home semifinal.
That said, Ashwell Prince’s troops didn’t fulfill their end of the bargain by losing to the Warriors in East London.
“I have absolutely no idea how we allegedly gave that game away,” a stern Boucher said on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s semifinal tussle against the selfsame Warriors in Centurion.
“We had four Proteas, three South Africa ‘A’ players, two SA Under-19 players and one up and coming guy from the franchise system in our side. I would never just put out a side there to go out and lose. I said from the start that if we made the semifinals early, I’d give other guys an opportunity, just like any other side.”
Known for being a feisty but practical man, the Titans mentor really sees no valid reason for the Cobras in particular to be aggrieved with them.
“We can’t worry about other teams, just ourselves,” said Boucher.
“If they want to complain, they should at least finish top of the log and then they can make those same decisions.”
Instead, the Titans – who possess a massive amount of depth in this tournament – had to consider the bigger picture.
“What people don’t seem to understand is our dynamic. We’ve got a lot of quality players,” said Boucher.
“When I took this job, it was my stated aim to make Proteas out of my players. But I can just turn my players into Proteas, we have a lot of established Proteas too who’ve come back from injury and I needed to help them get back to match fitness. I wanted everyone to feel part of the squad and play a role.”
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