Proteas coach Mark Boucher says he can’t quite put his finger on what has gone wrong for his team in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
South Africa were 34-3 at stumps on Friday, still 353 runs behind the Black Caps, who were bowled out for 482.
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“It’s been a tough two days,” Boucher said. “Extremely disappointing, especially after the series we had against India [which the Proteas won 2-1].
“I think there was a high expectation from everyone, and we just haven’t come out and given the energy that is expected of us.
“As coaches, we’ll keep going back and look at how we can best prepare the players for tours.
“It’s a funny one, and I haven’t quite put my finger on it at the moment, but I can see that the energies are way below par, and the results have shown that as well.
“We lost the toss, got behind the right ball after the first session, and we just haven’t been able to get back into the game in all three departments.
“Our batting, bowling and fielding have all been disappointing.”
Boucher was asked if off-field controversies, including his upcoming disciplinary hearing at which some players will be called on to testify, had played a part in the team’s poor performance.
“I can’t answer that for the players,” he said. “You know my stance on this; what is happening in my personal stuff stays personal, and there is a process that’s going on at the moment, and we’ll leave it at that.”
