Cricket South Africa announces Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter as head coaches for red-ball and white-ball formats

Cricket South Africa has named Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter as the head coaches for the red-ball and white-ball formats respectively. The talks regarding the same were going on for weeks and the governing body finally made the announcement on Monday (January 16).

Lance Klusener, Malibongwe Maketa, Richard Pybus and Adi Birrel were the other shortlisted members for the role. Mark Boucher recently left the position vacant after the T20 World Cup to become Mumbai Indians' head coach for the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While Conrad already has coaching experience this will be the first stint for Walter at the helm of a senior international side. Conrad coached Uganda side for around four months.

However, both Conrad and Walter have a strong record in the domestic arena. Conrad has won four franchise titles with the Lions and Cobras and also coached the South Africa U19 side last year during the World Cup in the West Indies. The team finished seventh among 16 in the competition.

Meanwhile, Walter worked as South Africa's strength and conditioning expert between 2009 and 2013. He also won three trophies as head coach of the Titans from 2013-14 to 2015-16. He also coached New Zealand's domestic sides Otago Volts and Central Stags but couldn't win any titles during these stints.

South Africa fighting to qualify for World Cup

As for South Africa, the team is currently in the doldrums in both white-ball and red-ball formats. While the Test team was crushed 2-0 in the recently-concluded three-match Test series in Australia, the Proteas are struggling to qualify for the ODI World Cup in India that is set to take place later this year.

They will be next seen in action against England at home in a three-match ODI series starting January 27. The West Indies are also set to tour South Africa for two Test matches, three ODIs, and three T20Is between February 28 and March 28.

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