Disorganised Centurion franchise miss out on Mark Boucher
The former Proteas wicketkeeper and current Titans coach was the first choice for his 'home' team but now he's off to PE for the Global T20.
Mark Boucher has taken to coaching like a duck to water. Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images.
It all seems fairly ridiculous, but Mark Boucher will be travelling from Centurion to take charge of the Port Elizabeth T20 Global League franchise while Russell Domingo heads in the opposite direction, coming from Port Elizabeth to coach the SuperSport Park franchise when the tournament gets underway in November.
The Port Elizabeth franchise is set to unveil Boucher as their coach on Wednesday, while Domingo’s appointment, revealed by The Citizen over the weekend, has not yet been announced.
Also read: Captain ‘Biff’ becomes coach ‘Biff’ for Benoni Zalmi
But he has been seen this week in discussions with the Centurion team owners and SuperSport Park staff.
The Centurion franchise seem to be struggling to get all their loose ends together.
It is believed Boucher was their first choice to coach their team based at SuperSport Park, but by the time he was approached he had already signed up with Port Elizabeth.
Meanwhile Domingo, fresh off a four-year stint as Proteas coach, looks set to enlist the services of his current batting consultant Neil McKenzie for the T20 Global League as one of his assistants.
Former Dolphins coach Lance Klusener is also likely to be involved on the coaching staff.
McKenzie and Klusener often played together in the South African team in the early 2000s and, aligned with Domingo’s experience and his previous success in limited-overs formats, the team which is believed to be called the Pretoria Mavericks, will certainly boast a strong coaching presence.
Paddy Upton, who often worked with the Proteas side as a mental coach, is the frontrunner to be in charge of the Durban Qalandars, while current Dolphins coach Grant Morgan, who has ties with the Gauteng region, is rumoured to be heading up the Johannesburg franchise.
With Jacques Kallis coaching the Cape Town Knight Riders and Graeme Smith confirmed this week as Benoni Zalmi coach, there is no doubt going to be some intense rivalry between that duo and Boucher as the three leading figures of their era in the Proteas team turn their attentions to high-profile coaching jobs.
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