’I haven’t put my finger on it ' - Mark Boucher can't explain poor Proteas performance

Johannesburg - The Proteas head coach Mark Boucher admitted Friday that even he couldn’t explain the dreadful performance produced by the players in the first two days of the opening Test against New Zealand.

“It’s been a tough two days, extremely disappointing. Especially after the series we had against India, I think there were high expectations from everyone,” Boucher said after the second day’s play at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Everything that could go wrong has; from the toss, to the first innings with the bat, the display with the ball, the fielding and then the second innings with the bat in which South Africa were reduced to 4/3 by the start of the fifth over.

They trail New Zealand by 353 runs.

“I haven’t put my finger on it at the moment. I can see the energies are way below par and the results have shown that as well. We lost the toss, got behind the eight ball after the first session and we just haven’t been able to get back in the game. All three departments; batting, bowling and fielding have been very disappointing.”

For the second time in the match, South Africa lost its first wicket with a single figure on the board. Seven of the last 11 opening stands for SA have been worth less than 10 runs. Two others during that period were worth 10 and 14. The highest opening partnership in the last six Tests is 47, which came in the second innings against India at the Wanderers. “Sometimes you go through bad periods in your game, it’s a lack of confidence. The wickets we have played on have been tough especially for opening batters, with the new ball. There are a few different things; certain guys’ personal form is not where they want it to be, and that has definitely added to it, and not only to the opening