Cricket: Mark Boucher to respond to SJN allegations

[banglabhai420]

Contrary to local reports, it is understood Boucher has not taken legal action against those who mentioned him in their testimonies

'My intentions are to cooperate fully with all requests made by the Ombudsman, so that the objectives of the SJN can be achieved'

Mark Boucher, South Africa's men's national coach, will make a submission to Cricket South Africa's (CSA) Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) project in response to allegations in which he has been implicated. Although CSA as an organisation will not comment on the SJN proceedings while they are ongoing, Boucher in his personal capacity confirmed his intention to co-operate with and support the SJN.

"I have been asked by the SJN to submit a written reply to the various allegations made during the hearings that have taken place. The documents that I have been furnished with, as well as the various reports in the media require my full attention and consideration, which I will be giving to them over the course of the next week," Boucher said. "My intentions are to cooperate fully with all requests made by the Ombudsman, so that the objectives of the SJN can be achieved."

Boucher's name has cropped up in a few statements by former players at the SJN hearings on racial discrimination in the game, leading to questions asked about him by the ombudsman Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza. Some testimonies imply the involvement of Boucher, usually as part of a group of players, in some of the incidents that have come out. The culture of the national team, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s and specifically at the 2007 World Cup, has come under scrutiny through stories from former players Paul Adams, Roger Telemachus and Loots Bosman.

While it is not clear how many of the members of those teams will present to the SJN it is expected that those with current involvement in South African cricket are likely to exercise the right of reply afforded to anyone who has been named in the proceedings.

Boucher was first asked for a reaction to the SJN testimony following South Africa's 3-0 victory over Ireland in the T20I series last week, when his name was mentioned at the hearings. Then, he said: "I fully respect the sensitivity around this. I am not going to give a knee-jerk response. I will go back home, assess the information that's on the table, that's available to me and I will reply respectfully and appropriately to all of the allegations. And at the right time as well. I need to get home and have a look at what's been said and then I will come through with a response."

Contrary to local reports, it is understood Boucher has not taken legal action against those who mentioned him in their testimonies. He called accusations of seeking the legal way out "hurtful, factually incorrect and do not serve the greater good of our country or the intentions of the SJN in mending past hurts and building relations."

As things stand, a date and time for Boucher's submission at the SJN has yet to be confirmed.

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