South Africa’s cricket board are reportedly about to argue in favour of Mark Boucher’s removal following accusations of misconduct on him after the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Boucher was served a seven-page charge sheet on January 17 by the board, with accusations laid out of misbehaviour and acts of creating racial indifference against the black teammates. With this bringing Cricket South Africa into disrepute on past and current handlings of racial discrimination, the board is seriously looking at Boucher’s position.
While charges against the 45-year-old also relate to his team’s handling of the BLM campaign and their gesture in favour of it, the biggest bone of contention seems to be his own behaviour during his playing days.
Boucher was accused of singing the song “brown sh#@” for his then-teammate Paul Adams by the former left-arm wrist-spinner himself during his SJN hearing.
When asked to respond, Boucher admitted to have sung the song but said he did not compose the lyrics of it. He also sent a written affidavit, which carried his formal apology to Adams and CSA.
The former wicketkeeper-batter also said back then that CSA failed to educate the players properly and spread awareness for equality in the early post-apartheid era. He did not appeal for oral testimony.
It seems, however, that CSA are not at all satisfied with Boucher’s remarks. In their charge sheet, the cricket body says the former cricketer has conducted himself in a racist manner.
“You failed to adequately and/or sufficiently and/or appropriately apologise for these utterances and/or acknowledge the racist nature of these utterances and/or the hurt that they caused; and/or … you have conducted yourself in a racist or subliminally racist manner,”
reads a portion of the charge sheet, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
The following hearing on the matter, however, is unlikely to be held before the end of South Africa’s next month’s Test tour of New Zealand.
Boucher played 147 Tests, 295 ODIs and 25 T20Is in his career for the Proteas.
