Mark Verdon Boucher

Profile:

It is a measure of the rapidity of Mark Boucher's rise that no one is quite sure exactly how many cricketing records he currently holds. Fastest man to a 100 dismissals here, highest score by a nightwatchman there, most innings without a bye over the road - they've tumbled out so quickly that it has been difficult to keep up. Probably his most significant achievement, however, came in only his second Test match, and his first on home soil, against Pakistan at the Wanderers in February 1998 when he and Pat Symcox put on 195 to set a new Test ninth-wicket partnership record. The real relevance of this feat lies not so much in its numbers, but in the fact that it was built with South Africa in desperate trouble at 166 for eight. Boucher had made his Test debut still short of his 21st birthday a few months previously when he was rushed to Sheikhupura to stand in for the injured Dave Richardson. He served his apprenticeship on South Africa's 1997/98 tour of Australia and took over as the first choice 'keeper when Richardson retired at the end of that tour. Boucher was not everyone's first-choice to succeed Richardson - Gauteng's Nic Pothas had been waiting in the wings for some time - but once Boucher got his hands on the position, he refused to let it go. In some respects he is still learning his trade (he found conditions in England difficult, both on the 1998 South African tour and during the 1999 World Cup), but he has demonstrated courage, determination and nous. These qualities brought him three Test hundreds in his first 25 Tests and earmarked him as a future number five or six batsman. He was also awarded the South African vice-captaincy when Shaun Pollock took over from Hansie Cronje, recognition of his willingness to get down and scrap when his team needs it. All things being equal, Boucher will surely captain South Africa one day and heaven knows how many records he might eventually set before he hangs up his gloves.