OTD: Mark Boucher's birthday, a glorious career which ended due to freak injury

On December 03, 1976, legendary South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher was born. After making his debut during a Test against Pakistan in October 1997, he went on to play 147 Tests, 295 ODIs and 25 T20Is for his country. The 47-year-old etched his name in record books as he became the first keeper to take 500 Test catches and also finished his career with the most dismissals in the history of Test cricket (555). 

The South African gloveman also ranks on the fourth spot in the list of most dismissals in ODI cricket (424). Boucher had 998 dismissals in international cricket in July 2012 and had announced that the tour to England in 2012 would be his last where he had hopes of finishing his career with over 1000 dismissals. However, a freak injury during a warm-up game vs Somerset, where his eye was hit by a bail while wicketkeeping, brought his career to a premature end. 

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As a result, Boucher finished his career with 998 dismissals in international cricket, a record which stands till date and also has one wicket to his name in Tests. Apart from his wicketkeeping heroics, the East London-born cricketer scored 5515 runs in Tests with five hundreds and 35 fifties to his name.

He also amassed 4686 runs in 221 innings in ODIs at an average of 28.57 and a strike rate of 84.56. The right-handed batter scored one hundred and 26 fifties in the 50-over format. The wicketkeeper-batter also held the record for the fastest hundred by a South African in ODIs reaching the landmark in just 44 balls vs Zimbabwe in 2006.

Mark Boucher surpassed Ian Healy's Test record in October 2007

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However, his feat was surpassed by AB de Villiers in 2015 who scored the fastest hundred in ODIs in just 31 balls. Boucher left behind Ian Healy (395 dismissals) in October 2007 to become the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals in Tests during the first Test in Karachi vs Pakistan.

Boucher's immaculate glovework has left an indelible mark not just in South African cricket history but also in international cricket. He's touted as arguably the greatest wicketkeeper to ever grace the field and continues to inspire generations to take up the wicketkeeping gloves.