South Africa announce appointment of new men’s team head coaches
Cricket South Africa has announced the appointment of new head coaches for both the men’s Test and white-ball teams. Shukri Conrad, who has significant experience within Cricket South Africa, will lead the Test team for the next four years. Rob Walter will take over as coach of the Men’s ODI and T20 teams, succeeding Mark Boucher in the role. Walter previously served as South Africa’s strength and conditioning coach from 2009 to 2013 before moving to New Zealand and working as the head coach of the Central Districts. This announcement comes shortly after Lance Klusener withdrew his application for the white-ball coaching role.
Shukri Conrad, who has been appointed as the head coach of the Test team, brings a wealth of experience in African cricket to the role. He has previously held positions as the head coach of Uganda, the head of South Africa’s National Academy, and head coach of the Men’s U19 team. Additionally, he led the U19 team at the 2022 ICC U19 Men’s T20 World Cup and coached them to victory in the CSA Provisional T20 Cup in October.
“We will always emphasise the value of Test cricket,” CEO of CSA Pholetsi Moseki said on the appointment of Conrad. “We are adding a number of Test games over the next four years.
“We are serious about being a Test-playing nation and we take the format very seriously. We have not relegated it to the margins because of T20 and we still see ourselves as a very serious Test-playing nation. We want to invest to get our Test team back to the standards we expect of them.”
CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkew added: “We want to be in the top three (in the world), but we are pushing for No. 1, even if it takes another three or four years to get there.
“Over the next two years, we are solidifying our position and building a bigger player pool.”
