Greatest wicket-keepers of all time: Mark Boucher

You have been more than a performer, you have been a motivator, an inspirer, an energizer.

– Graeme Smith on Mark Boucher’s retirement.

I would define a complete wicket-keeper as one who could keep wickets untiringly to all sorts of bowlers and then add some stability to the lower middle order with some crucial knocks for the team. If this definition is a universally accepted one, then I am pretty sure Mark Verdon Boucher was a purist. The current record holder for effecting the most number of dismissals in international cricket, Boucher was perhaps the most under-rated South African cricketer ever.

A man with sharp reflexes, he met the demands of keeping stumps to the fiery pace attack of Donald, Pollock, Ntini and Steyn with almost unimaginable ease. If catches really win matches, then Boucher was a genuine match-winner. He stood up to medium pacers, and dived to the most awkward of deliveries, making tremendous saves. Undoubtedly the most prolific international wicket-keeper ever, Boucher had to end his career on a curse of 998 dismissals as a ‘keeper, narrowly missing the magical four-figure mark (though effecting one each as a fielder and a bowler add up his tally to 1000).

Surprisingly, Mark Boucher was never genuinely strong in technique behind the stumps. Having made it to the side as a 20-year-old replacing Dave Richardson, who was suffering from a finger injury, Boucher initially stuck to his place mainly because of his batting exploits. But he was an epitome of hard work as he perfected his keeping skills with his growing experience in the game and a never-say-die spirit.

Boucher was more of a handy lower-order batsman and remained loyal to his role of finishing matches with ease. And no article would be complete if Boucher’s gritty fifty in the greatest ODI ever played at Johannesburg goes unmentioned. When Gibbs and Smith made it close to creating history, Boucher stayed till the end, ensuring that their herculean efforts did not go in vain. A batsman for all formats, he batted more sensibly than his batting numbers actually suggest.

Boucher was also well-known for perfecting the art of sledging standing behind the stumps. With excessive appealing and constant mind games, he often troubled batsmen, hampering their confidence. A very famous incident is his duel with Tatenda Taibu, speaking on his poor averages and strike rates that eventually got recorded on the stump microphone.

A video of the sledging episode here:

But Boucher was the workaholic who stood by the Proteas through the highs as well as the lows. Boucher remained unfazed by all the controversies that surrounded the South African national team in his playing days. Be it the match-fixing scandal, the 2003 World Cup exit, or the racial selection policies, this guy stood tall. He is also believed to have persuaded Herschelle Gibbs to come clean in the Hansie Cronje scandal. There was never a single instance when his name made the headlines on such issues, but he was there, along with the other players, to ensure that South African cricket made a smooth transition to the next level.

Boucher was one man who never held the limelight despite his tremendous records. Playing in the era of Jonty Rhodes, Alan Donald and Jacques Kallis, he was seldom noticed. He put those factors aside and played like a warrior who could never be counted out of the opposition’s plans; a perfect example would be his famous 195-run partnership with Pat Symcox for the ninth wicket in only his second Test match that helped the Proteas salvage some pride in a draw. There was equal disappointment in his career though, as he was the one who defended the last ball in the ugly D/L calculation leading to South Africa’s infamous exit from the 2003 World Cup.

For a cricketer of such a high stature, he was doomed to have a rough phase during his last days on the cricket field. He was often subjected to negative criticism mainly because of his poor run with the bat. His retirement was met with an unfortunate eye injury, leaving his dream of playing his 150^th Test at Lord’s shattered. In an anticlimactic turn of events, Mark Boucher was sent off from cricket as a googly from Imran Tahir forced a bail into the gloveman’s eyes in a practice match against Somerset in July 2012. But Boucher had already made an everlasting impact to be arguably hailed as one of the best ‘keepers of the modern era.