Mark Boucher named as the new coach of the Titans

22 August 2016 - 16:30 By Chumani Bambani

“The time has come for me to give back to the game.”This was the reaction of former Proteas wicketkeeper‚ Mark Boucher‚ as he was announced as the new coach of South African provincial side‚ the Titans‚ on Monday.The 39-year-old ex-Protea was forced to retirement as a player in 2012 after sustaining a serious eye injury after being struck by a bail in a tour match in Somerset‚ England.After a four-year break from active involvement in the game‚ aside from television commentary‚ Boucher was named as the replacement for Rob Walter at the Titans.Walter begins a new chapter as head coach of Otago in New Zealand on September 1‚ while Boucher will be hoping to continue where the former Titans coach left off at the Centurion-based side.The Titans enjoyed a successful period under Walter which culminated in two trophies – the Ram Slam Twenty20 and Sunfoil Series titles – in the 2015/16 season.“It is an honour and privilege to be given this opportunity to try something new in my career‚” said Boucher.“Obviously I have never been coach before‚ so it is a challenge‚ personally.“Coming to the Titans setup‚ I do understand they are a successful franchise‚ with a lot of fantastic players and a lot of Proteas players.“Taking over from a guy like Rob Walter‚ who has done a fantastic job‚ is going to be something I’ll be excited about and hopefully will enjoy. The guys I had played with in the Proteas setup said that this is the home of cricket in South Africa‚ so I’m looking forward to coaching here.”The Titans‚ despite having cast their net far and wide for a replacement for Walter‚ were satisfied with shortlisting only Boucher for the job.“Unfortunately‚ I cannot mention names as some are still employed [elsewhere]‚” Titans chief executive Jacques Faul said about the candidates who applied for the post.“We considered all applications and the committee ended up with a shortlist. We interviewed one applicant (Boucher) and we were satisfied.”What were the Titans looking for in the man to take the provincial side forward after a successful tenure by Walter?“We were looking for somebody that looks credible standing in front of a squad that has done well in the past. That is important to us‚” said Faul.“I don’t think you get the complete person that has done all his [coaching] levels‚ coached for 20 years and played for 20 years. Then that would be too long.“Mark has the cricket side behind him. We have a program to develop him as a manager and coach. We think he is definitely a natural leader and he is what the squad needs at this stage.”..

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