Mark Verdon Boucher, born 3 December 1976, is a retired South African Wicket
keeper, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. Anwesh Upadhyaya pays a tribute to the Cricket legend.
Mark Boucher the poacher! A tribute to the legend
by Anwesh Upadhyaya
by Anwesh Upadhyaya
He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC
World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and of-course South
Africa. He had been a regular feature of the South African side since the
1997/1998 tour to Australia,
until his retirement in July 2012 after a serious eye injury against Somerset.
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Mark Boucher!!! The poucher in action!!!
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This 35 years old Wicket keeper cum right
handed Batsman has always been the first choice wicket keeper for the Proteas.
He has been considered, if not the best, one of the greatest wicket keepers
South Africa has ever produced. He holds the
record for the maximum dismissals in Test Cricket. He is second, behind Adam
Gilchrist, in ODI format.
Debut
Mark Boucher’s debut was not at all
a start which any debutant will like. October 17, 1997 Mark made his first
debut against Pakistan at Sheikhpura which is in
Pakistan. It was a rain marred test match where he just had a chance to
keep for 17 overs as 3 days were washed off. True, he got a chance to bat but
only for a mere 6 overs.
Entering the Record Books
March 6 1998
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| Boucher with full concentration on the ball! |
Success in England
August 10 1998, Mark Boucher cemented his place in the SA
line up by 26 dismissals on the tour of England. This feat, at that time,
was 4th highest in test series.
Impact with Bat
January 15 1999, Mark Boucher gets his much coveted test
Century after a year of international career. The Caribbean
team was white washed 5-0 and Boucher follows up the year with 2 more
centuries. This was the first time he made an impact as a Batsman.
Batting Landmark
July 30 2000, 1000 runs scored in Tests during his half
century against Sri Lanka
at Kandy. A
reputable achievement for Mark Boucher and another
glorious moment for him and SA was when he caught Muttiah Muralitharan
which actually won the game for his team with just 7 runs to level the series.
Numero Uno !
March 12, 2001, Wavell Hinds was the 153rd
victim of Mark and this made Mark Boucher the number one wicket keeper of South Africa
technically surpassing Richardson who had 150 dismissals. This feat was
achieved in Port of Spain.
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| Boucher in Acrobatic Action! |
A Taste of Captaincy
February 22-October 21, 2002, After six years of International Career,
Mark Boucher was asked to lead the South African team. It was a tough series
(SA lost) against the Aussies but it included a
consolation victory at Durban. Apart from that, the Proteas smashed Bangladesh in
October. His 200th catch was also registered in the match against Bangladesh.
The 1st Wicket!
May 2, 2005, In his 84th test, Mark Boucher
gets to bowl once in International Cricket.
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| Boucher with the ball |
The outing was a successful one, he
knocked of Dwayne Bravo, and finished with the figures 1.2 – 0- 6-1. Quite
impressive for a newcomer!! ;)
Dismissal No.300!!
November 16, 2005, Mark Boucher completed his 300th
dismissal in 50 over format. Adam Gilchrist was the only one who had accounted
for such high number of dismissals at that time and Boucher was the second man to achieve that rare feat, The special victim was
Gautam Gambhir.
Twin Delights
January 11, 2007, Mark Boucher achieves the rare distinction of
playing 100 tests. The 4th player from
South Africa to achieve this rare feat. But that wasn’t all, he had 366 catches
in his booty, the highest at that time surpassing Ian Healey. That’s called a
cherry on the cake!
No.400 and the Poor Marsh
January 23 2009, Shaun Marsh was the special victim here,
which helped Boucher to make his 400th catch in the ODI format. He
always was closely trailing Adam Gilchrist and this was Boucher’s 275th
ODI.
Byebye Gilly !!
November 9, 2011, Well, Mark Boucher’s 500th Test catch, crossing his rival Gilchrist by a margin of 121 catches. A big deal and
a big reward for the South African star!
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| Wicket keeping legends! Boucher wielding the willow as Gilchrist behind the stumps |
Glorious career comes to an end
July 9 2012, A sad day for the entire cricketing fraternity. Having announced that the England series
will be his last, Mark Boucher suffered a fierce injury in the first warm up game.
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| Boucher get's injured :( |
The bail ricocheted off the wicket and hit him in the left eye, and he was
without protection.
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| Blood gushing out from the eye |
This freak injury required a surgery and Mark immediately
announced his retirement.
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| The Giant is in the ground :( |
This day will be etched
in my memory forever as it is my utmost regret and also probably a bad luck, 9th
July is my birthday(Anwesh Upadhyaya's birthday)
However Mark Boucher had a rare
achievement, which you can say is the peacock feather in his cap ;) The game, which is referred as the Greatest
ODI or Greatest of All time, was a high scoring match between the Oz and the
Proteas. Well, the rivalry between these two was always intense starting from
semi final in the World Cup 1999. This game however changed the scenario. March 12, 2006 Australian
Captain won the toss and elected to bat. With the series leveled at 2-2, the Oz
put up a score of 434 – 4 in
50 overs. Chasing this impossible target, South Africa gave a staunch reply.
Every player played their part, but in last over the Proteas fumbled a bit, and
they just had one wicket remaining with Boucher on strike, facing the ferocious
Brett Lee!. With 4 to win from 2 balls, with an aggressive field setup, Boucher
kept all his cool and played a confident glamorous straight drive….. and woah!
What a victory! Chasing 434 against the World Champion, Boucher was able to
provide the clincher of this magnificent game!
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| It's celebration time after chasing 434 successfully! |
A man to go to war with, but never against,
Mark Boucher packed all the archetypical attributes of the South African
cricketer into his short, stocky frame. He was relentlessly competitive,
invariably aggressive, and as hard and uncompromising as the new ball. After an
international career that lasted almost 15 years, the end was desperately
unfortunate, as Boucher was forced to announce his retirement after being hit
in the eye by a bail in a warm-up game on the tour to England in
2012, which would have been his last series anyway. Boucher finished with 998
international dismissals as a wicketkeeper, including 555 in 147 Tests.
Signing off with a heavy
heart and prayers for his quick recovery is Anwesh!
