10 Facts about Mark Boucher - The Great South African Wicketkeeper

Mark Boucher, the former South African cricketer, holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. Widely and justifiably regarded as one of the greatest wicketkeepers South Africa has ever had, Boucher was also known for his gutsy batting in all formats of the game. He was South Africa’s first-choice keeper until his retirement and a vital member of a world-class side.

His sound temperament and competitive nature helped his team win many matches from pressure situations. He was voted the South African cricketer of the year thrice; in 1998, 2000 and 2006. He is statistically the most successful wicketkeeper in the history of the game.

1. Birth:

Mark Boucher was born on 3^rd December in East London, South Africa.

2. An all-rounder:

Boucher played many sports at a young age. In a chat with Telegraph, he once said, “I represented Border schools at cricket, squash, swimming, cross-country, tennis and rugby. I then went on to play for South African Schools at cricket and squash.” He was a junior South African squash champion.

3. Mentored by Richard Pybus:

Mark Boucher while being educated at the Selborne College was coached by a high-profile coach; Richard Pybus, the former coach of Pakistan and Bangladesh national teams and the West Indies’ Director of cricket. Pybus is a two-time winner of the South African Cricket Coach of the year award. In a chat with Wisden, Pybus had stated that he discovered Boucher’s talent during a wicket keeping camp and was very impressed by his natural athleticism.

4. U-19 days:

Mark Boucher continued to play squash till his early 20s, however, took cricket very seriously when he was called up for the South Africa under-19s to tour England in the year 1995. He made his debut as an opening batsman in that series.

5. Initial years in international cricket:

Mark Boucher made his Test debut against Pakistan in October 1997 at Sheikhupura, Pakistan. This match turned out to be a virtual non-event. In a game where three days were washed out due to rain, he only kept wickets for 17 overs without any scalps. He did get an opportunity to bat, however, could manage only 6 runs. He made headlines in the home Test series against Pakistan in Port Elizabeth, scoring a half-century and accounting for nine dismissals, (eight catches and a stumping) he equaled his predecessor David Richardson’s South African record.

6. South Africa’s 1998 tour to England:

Mark Boucher’s relative lack of pure wicket keeping skill and ability was exposed on South Africa’s 1998 tour to England. He was repeatedly undone by the swing of the ball after it had pitched. However, Boucher was solid in terms of temperament, guts, and determination. He put in a lot of hard work and had long keeping drills even after other team members were done practicing. His hard work paid off and he established himself as a regular member of the team.

7. The most memorable knock:

Mark Boucher scored runs when his team needed the most, a quick 30 or 40 his team needed to win a match or the session that had to be spent at the crease to ensure a draw. His most memorable innings was the scintillating unbeaten 50 he scored to complete South Africa’s surge to a series-clinching target of 438 for 9 off the penultimate ball of the final ODI against Australia in Johannesburg in March 2006.

8. Eye injury:

Mark Boucher suffered a serious eye injury on 9th July 2012, after being struck on his left eye by a bail. In this tour game, the leg-spinner Imran Tahir bowled Somerset’s Gemaal Hussain and the bail hit Boucher as he was neither wearing a protective helmet nor glasses. Following surgery to the eyeball, Boucher was ruled out of the rest of the tour. Due to the severity of the injury, Boucher—who had planned to retire at the end of the England tour—retired from International Cricket on 10 July.

Also Read – 5 Enthralling Cricketing Careers that Ended Due to Injuries

9. International statistics:

Mark Boucher played 147 Test matches for South Africa scoring 5515 runs at an average of 30.30 including 5 tons and 35 fifties. His career best is 125 against Zimbabwe at Centurion in January 1999. He has a record 555 dismissals as a keeper. Boucher played 295 ODIs scoring 4686 runs at an average of 28.57 including one century and 26 fifties. His career best is 147* against Zimbabwe in September 2006 at Potchefstroom. With 424 dismissals in ODIs, he is at the number 3 in the list of most dismissals for a wicket-keeper. He also played 25 T20Is scoring 268 runs along with 19 dismissals.

10. Passion for golf:

Mark Boucher has taken a liking for Golf and plays the sport regularly. He was concerned about his golfing future when he was injured on the tour of England which ended his career. Speaking to The Oprah Magazine, he once said, “That was scary for me: I didn’t know if I’d be able to drive again, or play golf, for example — things I was looking forward to doing after retiring from cricket.”