Cricket South Africa Withdraws All Charges Against Head Coach Mark Boucher

The board of Cricket South Africa (CSA) decided on Tuesday that none of the disciplinary accusations, including racism claims, against Mark Boucher, the coach of the Proteas Men’s cricket team, have any merit. As a result, the CSA Board has publicly and unequivocally withdrawn all allegations.

Several complaints have been brought against Boucher, which comes after former national spinner Paul Adams accused the Proteas head coach of being involved in a racial incident while the two were colleagues, stating that the former wicket-keeper was part of a group that called him a “brown sh*t.”

The CSA Board received the report from Adv Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, the independent Social Justice, and Nation-Building (SJN) Ombudsman, in December 2021.

Mr. Boucher was the subject of negative “tentative findings” in that report, but because the Ombudsman indicated that he was not in a position to make “definite conclusions,” he advised that other formal processes be followed to bring these problems to a conclusion.

The CSA Board decided to initiate formal proceedings by the recommendations of the SJN Report, which would allow all parties, including Mark Boucher, to reply to the allegations and fully present their case.

External attorneys told CSA that a formal disciplinary hearing in front of an independent Chairperson would be the right formal route to follow in the case of Mr. Boucher.

CSA formally withdraw all of the disciplinary charges against Mark Boucher:

The CSA Board of Directors has now decided to formally dismiss all of Mark Boucher’s disciplinary allegations. This covers allegations stemming from the SJN report as well as charges stemming from Mr. Nkwe’s resignation investigation. The CSA made this conclusion after considering the following factors”

1. Mr. Adams said later that he would not be testifying against Mr. Boucher during the disciplinary hearing. Mr. Adams claimed that his concerns expressed during the SJN process were concerning the broader “culture” of the Proteas team during the early 2000s, rather than any specific individual.

2. Mr. Boucher formally apologised to Mr. Adams during the SJN procedure. Mr. Adams told CSA’s lawyers after the SJN procedure that he accepted the apology.

3. During the disciplinary hearing, Mr. Nkwe opted not to testify against Mr. Boucher. Mr. Nkwe openly declared that he did not want to take sides in the Mr. Boucher case and that “whatever happens in that process, I hope the outcome is the best for the game.”

4. Over the last month, CSA’s lawyers met with several other potential witnesses and determined that none of the three charges were credible.

5. The recent decision in the Graeme Smith arbitration by Advocates Hamilton Maenetje SC and Michael Bishop bolstered the conclusion that the accusations against Mr. Boucher would be dismissed.

CSA found that none of the charges against Mr. Boucher could be sustained after considering all of the above, as well as the advice of its outside lawyers. As a result, CSA has dropped the allegations and agreed to cover his legal fees.

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