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- The Proteas still have a tour of Australia, ICC Super League games, and a potential World Cup qualifying tournament they need to navigate with the new coach.
- That’s been necessitated by Mark Boucher stepping down at the end of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.
- There are several candidates, but Cricket South Africa needs to choose carefully, bearing in mind the tour to Australia and several critical 2023 engagements.
Cricket South Africa(CSA), stumped by Mark Boucher’s sudden decision to resign, does not have a lot of time to respond.
The organisation has been gently steering itself away from its administrative chaos in the past six months, and they will now have to put their heads together in search of a new coach for the men’s national team.
Pre-World Cup resignations aren’t new in the world of cricket, but that’s the chaos generally reserved for the likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Now, the Proteas have some tricky International Cricket Council waters they need to navigate in the form of the Australia tour over December which counts for World Test Championship points.
READ | Transparency key to finding Boucher’s replacement: ‘That was lacking when Mark was appointed
There’s also the significant matter of ICC Men’s Super League ODIs to worry about, especially with the points that have been dropped and the matches that remain.
The Proteas still have to play India away, and the Netherlands and England at home – and in the manner with which they have played, points from those games aren’t guaranteed.
Failure there will push the Proteas towards the World Cup qualifiers, which can, and will, be difficult.
Whoever gets the coaching gig will have a mountain to climb. Here, we look at some of the realistic candidates:
Lance Klusener
Klusener, who is currently the batting coach of an improving Zimbabwe side, has more than enough domestic and international experience to take on this task.
Covid-19 got in the way of his Afghanistan coaching gig that would have given prospective employers a fair idea of how good he really is.
Teams like Afghanistan are generally measured not just on results, but on player development.
Lance Klusener. (Gareth Copley-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
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That’s something Klusener excelled in at the Dolphins, where young players at the time like Andile Phehlukwayo, Khaya Zondo, Sibonelo Makhanya, and Cody Chetty showed excellent improvement.
Also, with Klusener being a batting coach by trade, the Proteas don’t have to outsource the batting responsibility.
The batting has been an Achilles heel for the better part of six years and Klusener is in a position to come up with short to mid-term remedies.
Imraan Khan
The South Africa Under-19 representative and one-cap wonder can’t be left out of any coaching conversation, especially with the white-ball excellence of the Dolphins.
The bulk of the Dolphins’ great work has been done at Kingsmead, but a team that’s been able to ask questions of other teams in white ball cricket means they need to be handy at other grounds.
Imraan Khan
Sport24 Gallo Images
If there’s a white ball specialist that the Proteas require, especially with the short-term targets they need to tick off to qualify for the World Cup, he’d probably be the right candidate.
READ | Mark Boucher’s sudden resignation stumps Cricket SA: ‘I didn’t think the journey was over
He’s also handy in red ball cricket, with Durban’s notorious weather often getting in the way of any positive cricket the Dolphins generally attempt.
He’s also a batting specialist and with the willow fault lines getting wider, he may not be such a bad idea.
After all, several young batters like Grant Roelofsen, Marques Ackerman, and Bryce Parsons have made impressive strides under his tutelage.
Wandile Gwavu
Domestic success cannot be ignored, and nor can the claims of Wandile Gwavu. Under his stewardship, the Lions vacillate between red ball and white ball excellence.
Where they failed last season with their temperament in the Four-Day series where they were overpowered by the Titans, they avenged that in the One-Day Cup where they came good when it mattered in the final.
Wandile Gwavu
Sport24 Gallo Images
The Lions have achieved everything since he replaced Enoch Nkwe, with the only concern being whether the Lions are at the point of stagnation.
Having worked with Nkwe at the Lions may also be to his advantage, along with the significant numbers of Lions players in the Proteas setup.
Mali Maketa
The Dale College product was one of the most unfortunate victims of the Ottis Gibson exit as he remained in limbo before settling with the South Africa ‘A’ side.
His stint at the Warriors as head coach only showed a small glimpse of his abilities as he was snapped up to join the national team under Gibson.
Mali Maketa
Sport24 Gallo Images
The South Africa A side also hasn’t played enough in the past two years for him to put up a credible track record.
READ | Departing Boucher will feel he danced as fast as he could
However, he’s one individual who understands the inner workings of several players better than most, having worked with the bulk of them at South Africa A.
Mandla Mashimbyi
He’s the only specialist bowling coach in this group, but one who can’t be left out if he’s judged on what he’s done at the Titans.
He coaches a team that’s generally shorn of senior players, from where he and Geoffrey Toyana moved to empower younger players with senior responsibilities.
Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi
Sport24 Lee Warren/Gallo Images
Neil Brand and Makhanya have developed excellently under his watch, with Lizaad Williams graduating to the national team.
His numbers may stand him in good stead, but with the Proteas needing a batting-centered coach, he may be an outsider.
Ashwell Prince
As a former batter and an analyst who has dissected batting techniques, Prince does stand out as a more than a reasonable candidate.
The fact that he’s worked as a batting coach for Bangladesh after stints with Western Province, the Cape Cobras, and the Cape Cape Town Blitz, along with having a CSA Level 3 qualification (this is very important as the qualification matter dogged Boucher throughout his tenure), may count in his favour.
Ashwell Prince (Gallo)
Trophies didn’t come his way while he was a domestic coach, but the accelerated development of players like Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne, and David Bedingham matters from a coaching perspective.
He can look after batters, something that may be a prerequisite for any of the Proteas’ coaching contenders.
Justin Langer
He is as left-field as any lefty would come, but if the Proteas are looking for a Test match-specific coach, he’s the right man.
His extensive experience of coaching and playing in Australia can and will come in handy, but also, his limited-overs nous cannot be ignored.
Justin Langer (Getty)
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His success with the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League made up for his inability to win the Sheffield Shield. However, being an Ashes winner and being the first Australian coach since John Buchanan to leave the Ashes in the United Kingdom without losing the series.
He’s a hard taskmaster, maybe too hard for Australians, but also a very good batting man, if one looks at the progress made by Australia’s batters under his watch.
SA’s Test batting needs a lot of love, but also, a lot of work.
Robin Peterson
The former Proteas left-arm spinner has put in some quiet work at the Warriors, with his emphasis being on, like the other coaches, specific player development.
The likes of Tristan Stubbs, Wihan Lubbe, and Matthew Breetzke are beneficiaries of this, with this trio of batters excelling in the different formats.
Warriors coach Robin Peterson
Gallo Images
The fact that he’s moulded the Warriors into a formidable fighting force, especially when they’re in Gqeberha, cannot be overlooked. However, he’s also up against coaches who have trophy success to speak on their behalf.
Peterson’s excellent analytical mind has been expertly used on television, but he is also pursuing studies outside of cricket, in the process earmarking himself for roles bigger than coaching.
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