New South Africa coach Boucher savours winning start

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Dwaine Pretorius celebrates takes a catch to dismiss England's Jos Buttler with teammates, off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada REUTERS/Rogan Ward

PRETORIA(Reuters) - South Africa coach Mark Boucher said winning his first test match in charge was as good as the many victories he enjoyed as a player after his maiden triumph against England on Sunday.

The 107-run victory in the first test at Centurion Park came a fortnight after Boucher, 43, was appointed to the post after a shake-up of Cricket South Africa’s structures at the start of the month.

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa' Quinton de Kock celebrates winning the test match with teammates as England's James Anderson looks dejected REUTERS/Rogan Ward

“I’ve played quite a few test matches and we won a couple of good ones but certainly this is up there, especially from where we have come," he said.

“It has been a hectic two weeks, we’ve put in a lot of hard work as a coaching staff, so this is a reward.

“I’m also very happy for the players and the way they approached it,” Boucher added.

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa' Faf du Plessis with England's James Anderson and Stuart Broad as South Africa players celebrate winning the test match REUTERS/Rogan Ward

“We said before we wanted to instil some confidence back in the players and to see them walk off the field with a win you can see now there is a belief that we can win test matches against very good teams.”

Boucher took over the domestic Titans franchise in 2016 and within a year was named Coach of the Year. He now has a contract with South Africa until 2023.

“We understand there is a long way to go,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of youngsters we need to impart knowledge to and speed up the process of becoming experienced cricketers and we’ll certainly do that."

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and teammates celebrate winning the test match REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Boucher, one of the world's best wicketkeepers, had his playing career ended in horrific fashion in a freak incident in Taunton in 2012 where he got hit by a ball in the left eye, losing his lens, iris and pupil.

It brought a premature end to a 147-test career in which he took a world record 999 dismissals in all forms of cricket so to return to the South Africa dressing room was a thrill.

“I’ve been out of international cricket for quite some time now so it’s an honour for me to walk back into that changing room and be part of hopefully a change in South African cricket," he said.

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 England's Stuart Broad is bowled by South Africa's Kagiso Rabada REUTERS/Rogan Ward

“There’s been quite a few changes but the spirit and passion is still there. I’m looking forward to the challenge and working hard with the guys and seeing them develop,” Boucher added.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Dwaine Pretorius takes a catch to dismiss England's Jos Buttler, off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Anrich Nortje celebrates taking the wicket of England's Jofra Archer with teammates, caught by Rassie van der Dussen REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Kagiso Rabada celebrates taking the wicket of England's Jonny Bairstow, caught by Zubayr Hamza REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 England's Joe Root looks dejected as he walks off after losing his wicket off the bowling of South Africa's Anrich Nortje, caught by Quinton de Kock REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Cricket - South Africa v England - First Test - Supersport Park, Centurion, South Africa - December 29, 2019 South Africa's Kagiso Rabada celebrates taking the wicket of England's Jonny Bairstow, caught by Zubayr Hamza REUTERS/Rogan Ward