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Published 20:16 IST, February 20th 2020

Mark Boucher says SA have to work hard for rediscovering their 'rhythm' in Test cricket

South African cricket team head coach Mark Boucher said that the Proteas will need to work very hard in order to rediscover their rhythm in Test cricket

Reported by: Karthik Nair
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Mark Boucher
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Mark Boucher said that the South African team will have to work very hard to rediscover their rhythm in Test cricket. The Proteas are at the seventh position in the ICC World Test Championship rankings having registered just a solitary win in the seven matches that they have played so far with 24 points. The side led by then skipper Faf du Plessis suffered a 0-3 whitewash in India and then went on to lose the home series against England. 

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'A lot of hard work needs to be done'

Mark Boucher said that with regards to Test cricket, they are a long way off the mark and need to work hard there especially in their batting. The South African head team head coach also mentioned that their batting had let them down (during the series against England) and the players need to get some confidence and up their level of skill.

Boucher also said that it was tough but he was aware that it was going to be tough. The former wicket-keeper batsman added that he does not want to get emotional about the whole thing as one needs to try to be practical and look at where they are as a team. He further added that there is a lot of hard work that they must do.

Mark Boucher's first stint as the coach

Mark Boucher's first stint as the head coach did not go the way he would have wished as England got the better of South Africa in the recently concluded home series. The Proteas lost the Test series 3-1 despite drawing first blood. The three-match ODI series ended in a stalemate as both teams won a game each and the decider was washed away due to rain.

In the T20I series which was the final leg of this long tour, the hosts won a thriller in East London. Nonetheless, the Eoin Morgan-led side held their nerves in the next two matches to clinch the series 2-1.

South Africa will be hosting Australia in a limited-overs series which includes three One Day Internationals and three T20Is between February 21 and March 7, 2020. 

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Updated 20:16 IST, February 20th 2020