"Extremely disappointed" - Boucher on South Africa sending second-string team to New Zealand

Former wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher is “extremely disappointed” with South Africa sending a second-string team to New Zealand due to the two-match Test series clashing with the second edition of the SA20. 

The Proteas have named eight uncapped players in their squad, led by Neil Brand, who himself will be making his debut. Edward Moore, Raynard van Tonder, Ruan de Swardt, Mihlali Mpongwana, Tshepo Moreki, Shaun von Berg and Clyde Fortuin are the other uncapped players in the set-up.

Boucher isn’t too pleased with the Cricket South Africa prioritising SA20 over Test cricket. The current head coach of the IPL team Mumbai Indians, Boucher feels that the scheduling could have been done better.

“I'll be honest with you. I am extremely disappointed. It's got nothing to do with the players. You can't blame the players that have been selected or the players that are not going. I think the scheduling needs to be really looked at by CSA, I don't think it's acceptable,” he told SportsBoom.com.

“If I was New Zealand cricket, I'd be quite disappointed. I understand them not wanting to pull out as well because the World Test Championship points are at stake. But I do think that we in South Africa need to sit down, have a hard look at ourselves at the scheduling and find a way to make it right.”

Boucher, however, didn’t shy away from acknowledging the financial benefits of having a franchise-based T20 league. “SA20 is good for the public watching. It is very well supported, but we can't have that in place of Test series against a very, very strong New Zealand team away from home. 

“So as a former player, and I know I'm not alone, there are probably a lot of guys who would probably speak about it as passionately as me as well.”