After a
sport-immersed youth and an illustrious cricketing career, retired South
African cricketer and star wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher, has come out to bat for
our endangered rhino. Despite a career limiting eye injury on the field in July
Boucher has taken on the role of rhino ambassador and hopes to raise more than
R1-million to help put a stop to the poaching of our iconic rhino.
Born into
a sports-mad family on the 3 December 1976, Mark Verdon Boucher grew up in East
London in the Eastern Cape, and completed his schooling at the boys-only
Selbourne College. Sports practice – and lots of it – featured prominently in
his early life; Boucher represented Border for schools cricket, squash,
swimming, tennis, cross-county running and rugby.
The
ambitious youngster went on to play for the South African
Schools cricket and squash teams and continued playing competitive squash up to
national under-21 level. After playing cricket for South African Schools in
1994, Boucher was selected for the South Africa Under-19 side for tours against
England in 1995. That’s when he decided that cricket was going to be his life.
Boucher,
who had completed the first year of a sports management degree at the
University of Port Elizabeth before being selected for the National Cricket
Academy, went on to represent Border, Africa 11s, ICC world 11s, the Royal
Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League,
as well as South Africa.
He
quickly earned the nickname Guinness for the number of records he broke –
becoming the youngest or fastest to many cricketing records and milestones.
As
a Protea’s player, he was highly regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest
wicketkeepers and holds the record for the most dismissals in test cricket. Feisty
and driven to succeed, Boucher took the record from Australian wicketkeeper,
Ian Healy, in 2007, lost it to Adam Gilchrist, another Aussies player, and then
regained the title in February 2008.
Boucher
is also second, behind Gilchrist, on the all-time list for One Day International
wickets. Also a
well-regarded batsman he made his maiden One Day
International century in 2006, hitting an unbeaten 147 off 68 balls. With his
hundred coming of 44 balls this was also the second fastest One Day
International century ever scored.
He
has played in 294 One Day Internationals and is one of eleven South Africa
players to have played more than one hundred consecutive One Day Internationals
for his country. IN 2007 Boucher grabbed the South Africa record for the most
runs off an over, but this has since been beaten by Herschelle Gibbs’ 36 runs
off an over – the highest score possible without no-balls or wides.
Boucher
was voted South African player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2006 and Wisden
Cricketer of the year in 2009, but his career was cut shot a few months before
he had planned to retire.
On
9 July last
year Boucher was
injured when a wicket bail stuck his left eye during a game in Somerset, part
of South Africa’s test tour against England. Boucher underwent eye surgery and
resigned from international cricket the following day. His doctors are hopeful
of a 50% restoration of vision following further surgery.
Boucher
has bounced back from his career and lifestyle changing injury, and in
conjunction with South African Breweries (SAB), has started a campaign to help
protect South Africa’s critically endangered rhino.
As
passionate about conservation as he is about cricket, Boucher plans to do his
bit to fight on-going rhino poaching as SAB’s Castle Larger Rhino Ambassador.
Together
they have formed the SAB-Boucher Conservation non-profit company and hope to
raise R1-million in the first year of their Rhino in Safe Hands campaign. With
SAB donating R300 000 towards the set-up costs all the money raised by the
campaign will be put towards saving rhino.
Our
endangered rhino population is being decimated at a rate of almost two per day,
and the long-term aim of the project is to raise enough money to register all
of South Africa’s 18 000 remaining rhino on the national rhino database. This
DNA database of rhinos will enable recovered rhino horns to be traced and
matched to crime scenes. The database has already been used to successfully
prosecute a number of rhino poachers and the registration of more rhino will
help in both investigations and prosecutions.
Boucher
and SAB have been able to attract some prestigious patrons to their cause,
including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr Ali Bacher, and Dr Ian Player and their
long-term goal is to extend the reach of the non-profit organisation and
support other species that might benefit in a similar way from national DNA
registration.