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Cape Town - Former Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has been named as head coach of the Port Elizabeth franchise in the inaugural T20 Global League.
The team, which is owned by Dubai-based businessman Ajay Sethi, will be named the Nelson Mandela Bay Stars.
Boucher’s team will include former Zimbabwean bowler and current national coach of his country Heath Streak (bowling coach) and Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa (assistant coach). They will be guided by the experienced Goolam Rajah (team director), who spent 20 years with the South African national team.
Makhaya Ntini, a proud son of the Eastern Cape who was discovered playing on the fields of Mdingi, will provide inspiration as an ambassador for the team, along with former Eastern Province legend Graeme Pollock. Ntini was the first black African to play for South Africa, with a combined 656 wickets in 274 Tests and One-Day Internationals for his country.
Boucher and Ntini have walked a long path together for South Africa, both making their ODI debuts in the same match against New Zealand in 1998, with the wicketkeeper taking the catch to give Ntini his first international wicket.
West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, who destroyed bowling with a heavy bat swung by those massive shoulders, will grace the dream team as an ambassador, while Rohan Gavaskar, the former Indian cricketer and son of the great Sunil, will come on board as the team’s media director and spokesperson.
“We wanted a team that would be founded with the same values that guided Madiba,” said Sethi. “My thanks to the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality for embracing us with such generosity. For us, this team is about being a big part of the Nelson Mandela Bay community and the Eastern Cape for years to come. We want the Nelson Mandela Bay Stars to be the People’s Team.”
The tournament, which features eight franchises, runs from November 3 to December 16.
