Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter were on Monday appointed as South Africa's new head coaches.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has opted to split coaching duties, with Conrad taking charge of the Test side and Walter the limited-overs teams.

Mark Boucher had been head coach for all formats but brought his reign to an end following the T20 World Cup in Australia late last year.

Malibongwe Maketa stepped in on an interim basis following Boucher's resignation, overseeing a 2-0 Test series defeat in Australia.

The new coaching duo have reportedly signed four-year contracts.

A former first-class cricketer, Conrad has coached the South Africa Under-19 side and now gets his chance with the senior team in the longest format.

Dean Elgar's side look highly unlikely to qualify for the 2023 World Test Championship at The Oval following that series loss in Australia.

Walter was previously employed as South Africa's strength and conditioning coach and has the task of turning around the Proteas' white-ball fortunes, with qualification for the 50-over World Cup in India not yet secured.

South Africa failed to progress from their group at the T20 World Cup after suffering a shock defeat to the Netherlands in November.

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher will take charge of Mumbai Indians when he leaves the Proteas after the T20 World Cup.

Cricket South Africa announced following the Test series defeat to England this week Boucher was set to step down to "pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives".

The 45-year-old has quickly secured a new role in the Indian Premier League, joining Mumbai for the 2023 season.

"It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as head coach of MI," Boucher said in an Indians statement.

"Their history and achievements as a franchise clearly put them up there as one of the most successful sporting franchises in all of world sport. I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results.

"It's a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit."

 

Cricket South Africa has confirmed Mark Boucher will step down from his role as the national team's head coach after the T20 World Cup.

The Proteas suffered a nine-wicket defeat in the third and final Test of their tour of England at The Oval on Monday, losing the series 2-1.

Boucher took on the role in December 2019, signing a four-year deal and going on to secure 11 wins in Test matches, as well as 12 ODI and 23 T20I victories.

South Africa are currently second in the ICC World Test Championship table, despite their loss in England, and Boucher's last games in charge will come at the T20 World Cup in Australia, which runs from October 16 to November 13 later this year.

A statement from CSA on Monday outlined that Boucher had resigned to "pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives".

"While Cricket SA greatly regrets that Mr Boucher is unable to see out the term of his contract, it respects his decision and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours," the statement added.

The former Proteas wicket-keeper earned 147 Test caps during his playing days between 1997 and 2012, scoring 5,515 runs at an average of 30.30.

CSA Chief Executive Pholetsi Moseki thanked Boucher for his efforts in the role, saying: "We would like to thank Mark for the time and effort he has invested in South African cricket as the head coach over the past three years.

"He has helped navigate us through some rough waters following the departures of so many senior players through retirement and has helped lay some strong foundations for the next generation of Proteas.

"We are extremely grateful to him for the work he has done and would like to wish him well with the next chapter of his career."

CSA also confirmed it "will in due course announce its intentions regarding a successor to Mr Boucher".

Former South Africa director of cricket Graeme Smith has been cleared of racism allegations against him by two independent arbitrators.

Smith was accused of racial bias against black leadership at Cricket South Africa (CSA), discrimination against Proteas wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile and unfair racial treatment surrounding the appointment of Mark Boucher over Enoch Nkwe in 2019.

The former Proteas skipper was under review by Dumisa Ntsebeza SC after CSA's Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) process, with Ntsebeza unable to conclude on "definite findings" in December 2021.

The initial report criticised Smith and former captain AB de Villiers for selection decisions, which it said were prejudicial towards black players, allegations the pair both denied.

That led to further formal processes, with two independent arbitrators Ngwako Maenetje SC and Michael Bishop reviewing the case, before Smith was cleared of the allegations of racism.

Smith, who held the CSA director role between 2019 and 2022 before his contract ended in March this year, has also been reimbursed his costs by CSA on the advice of the arbitration.

Lawson Naidoo, chairman of the CSA Board, said after the decision: "The manner in which these issues have been dealt with and resolved by the arbitration proceedings confirms CSA's commitment to deal with the SJN issues in a manner that treats them with utmost seriousness but also ensures fairness, due process and finality.

"Now that finality on these processes has been reached, it is appropriate to recognise the extraordinary contribution that Graeme has made to South African cricket, first as the longest-serving Test captain in cricket history and then as director of cricket from 2019 to 2022.

"His role as director has been critical in rebuilding the Proteas men's team in particular and has laid a solid foundation for his successor.

"We fully appreciate that after his time as director, Graeme wants new challenges in the commercial and cricket worlds.

"He has a long career ahead of him and we very much hope that he will still work in the cricket world in appropriate capacities going forward."

CSA apologised for the unwarranted public disclosures of Smith's personal information, including his remuneration, during the SJN process, as they thanked the 41-year-old for his efforts in charge.

Pholetsi Moseki, who is CSA's chief executive, added: "On behalf of the executives, staff and players at CSA, I would like to thank Graeme for all that he did as the director of cricket.

"He put up his hand at a particularly tumultuous period for CSA and he has often gone beyond his contracted duties to assist CSA during his term."

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