Boucher: MSL T20 can’t be allowed to cover up ills of SA cricket
The Proteas legend and Spartans coach is a worried man over the health of the game, particularly at national level.
Coach Mark Boucher during the Tshwane Spartans open day at SuperSport Park on November 05, 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images)
While Proteas legend Mark Boucher is more than willing to pour all his energy into the Mzansi Super League, he firmly believes the local T20 tournament shouldn’t be allowed to “sugarcoat” the problems facing South African cricket in general.
Critics say the embattled Cricket South Africa (CSA) is far too preoccupied with the competition, which starts on Friday, and is turning a blind eye to the poor performances of the national team and underestimating the severity of their court battle with the South African Cricketers Association.
Boucher, who’ll coach the Tshwane Spartans again this season, is inclined to agree.
“I think there are bigger issues that need to be dealt with to be honest,” the former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman said in typically forthright fashion on Tuesday.
“There might be quite a few people looking at this and saying we’re sugarcoating the actual situation were are in with South African cricket at the moment. We’ve got ourselves into a pretty bad state. Hopefully there are some clever heads there to try and turn things around.”
It’s highly likely that the marquee occasion on the domestic calendar will help stakeholders and supporters forget about some of the ills plaguing the game, but Boucher warns it will only prolong inaction.
“I wouldn’t read too much into this tournament. I think people will enjoy the action regardless because they love T20 cricket in general,” he said.
“It’s new faces, it’s new teams and new environments. The tournament will be well supported as it was last year, but we’ve got to be very careful with putting too much emphasis on this tournament. There are bigger problems that need to be sorted out.
“And they need to be sorted out very soon, for the good of cricket our country and for the good of world cricket. There are guys around the world talking about the state we’re in, it’s not good.
“It’s sad to read, watch and listen about our cricket. There’s a lot of negativity
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