"Good to get a win under our belts" - Mark Boucher hails South Africa after series win over Sri Lanka
Mark Boucher was pleased with the way South Africa played as they crushed Sri Lanka in the second Test to complete a 2-0 series whitewash.
The Proteas wrapped up the second Test in less than two-and-a-half-days. The South Africa coach feels the series win will give them some much-needed momentum going into their next assignments.
"First of all, it’s just good to get a win under our belts. Our batsmen got among the runs, spent good time in the middle and so that will have given them a lot of confidence for our next series in Pakistan and then against Australia. They can build on that momentum.
"If you look at our bowling attack, there are only a handful of caps between them and so a lot of inexperience there. They learnt a lot of lessons and they learnt them very quickly as well. It’s a group that is growing and as long as we see growth we are happy. The way they responded to a few harsh words that were needed at times was good and is something to build on,” said Mark Boucher.
South Africa will now travel to Pakistan for a two-match Test series, before hosting Australia in February in a mouth-watering Test series.
Getting their first Test series win since January 2019 will no doubt be a big boost to their confidence going into what will be two difficult series.
Mark Boucher says South Africa not a finished product yet
Mark Boucher believes that there is still a lot of work to be done before South Africa can compete with the big teams. He believes they are heading in the right direction, but knows there is still a long road ahead.
“By no means are we a finished product. There is still a lot of hard work to be done but the guys understand that. We are going to make mistakes along the way but as long as we keep learning from those mistakes, then we are heading in the right direction,” said the South Africa coach.
After losing to India and England before the COVID-19 enforced break, South Africa had dropped to sixth place in the ICC World Test rankings. But after a tough 18-month period, it finally looks like there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Rainbow Nation.