'We played some very good cricket but let ourselves down' - Mark Boucher disappointed with South Africa's Test defeat against England

Mark Boucher, the outgoing coach, voiced his displeasure that South Africa's batsmen did not give the bowlers an adequate opportunity to challenge England in what he dubbed a "lost opportunity" to clinch what was his final Test series in command, with the Proteas.

A visibly dejected Boucher lamented South Africa's lack of runs, which failed to support a powerful pace pack, while speaking of South Africa's performance following the 2-1 series loss, prior to announcing his resignation publicly. 

“I'm disappointed because it's a missed opportunity. We played some very good cricket but then we let ourselves down. We just didn't put the runs on the board so we never quite knew how we could test England. We believed we had the bowlers to be able to take 20 wickets, but you've got to score runs,” Boucher was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The guys got tested and fell short technically: Boucher

Despite his dissatisfaction with his batsmen, Boucher could not bring himself to place all the responsibility on them. Rather, he divided it among the opposition's bowling, the English weather, and the batters' inadequate experience. The Englishmen managed to bag a victory in the third and final Test, which was reduced to three days due to the weather conditions and the Queen’s demise.

"I'm disappointed but understanding that our guys didn't go out and try to play maverick cricket. We tried really hard. I could see it yesterday [South Africa reached 83/1 on day four of the Oval Test, however, they then lost nine wickets for 86 runs]. The guys got tested and fell short technically, but also because of good bowling. We knew England had a good attack and we were going to be tested. Unfortunately, we couldn't stand up to it."

Boucher, on Monday, announced that he would step down as South Africa’s head coach after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. The Proteas are scheduled to play India next for three T20Is and three ODIs, before starting their T20 World Cup warm-up games which are scheduled against New Zealand and Bangladesh.