Boucher charged with 'gross misconduct', to face disciplinary hearing

South Africa  head coach Mark Boucher has been charged with gross misconduct and will face disciplinary hearing for the allegations made against him by former teammate Paul Adams. Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday announced that senior counsel advocate Terry Motau will chair the hearing.

Boucher, who has been presented the charge sheet,  will continue as the Proteas' head coach on an interim basis.

"It is proposed that the parties [Boucher] will meet with Advocate [Motau] on 26th January 2022 to determine a timetable for the proceedings. This follows December's Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report, which made tentative findings regarding allegations of discrimination and racism against various persons, including Mr Boucher. Specifically, during the SJN process, allegations of racism were levelled against Mr Boucher by his former Proteas team-mate, Paul Adams."

The SJN published a report which had the allegations made against Boucher, CSA's director of cricket Graeme Smith and former captain AB de Villiers for prejudicial conduct during the playing days. Adams, who was the only player of color in the Proteas when he made his debut in 1995, alleged that he was nicknamed "Brow Sh*t" by his teammates and recalled the derogatory songs in the dressing room directed at him.

Boucher, in his affidavit submitted to the SJN in August last year, apologized for "the part I played in joining in with my team-mates in singing offensive songs or using offensive nicknames".

The CSA statement said that further steps will be taken in accordance to the SJN report's recommendations.

"Further steps and action by CSA to transform cricket and act on other applicable recommendations in the SJN report, aligned to the Board's new strategic framework and pillars of access, inclusion and excellence, will be announced in due course," the statement said.