SOUTH AFRICA HEAD COACH MARK BOUCHER CHARGED WITH GROSS MISCONDUCT OVER RACISM CLAIMS — BBC Sport
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher, 45, has been charged by Cricket South Africa (CSA) with gross misconduct over allegations of racism. Boucher was among a number of CSA employees implicated in “tentative findings” by the Social Justice and Nation Building commission last month. In a series of hearings between July and October last year, a number of black players testified that they had been victims of racism and discrimination while part of the national team. Former left-arm spinner Paul Adams told the commission that a racial slur about him was used in a team song in the late 1990s. Boucher subsequently apologised in a written submission to the commission. However, the ombudsman found that Boucher’s explanation lacked sensitivity and understanding of South Africa’s racist history. CSA said Boucher would meet disciplinary hearing chair Terry Motau on 26 January to “determine a timetable for proceedings.”
AUSTRALIA VS NEW ZEALAND WHITE-BALL SERIES POSTPONED OVER QUARANTINE CONCERNS — BBC Sport
Australia and New Zealand’s white-ball series, scheduled to start on 30 January, has been postponed because of quarantine concerns for the Black Caps. In order to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, plans to relax New Zealand’s 10-day quarantine by the time the series finished on February 8 have been delayed. The New Zealand government was “unable to provide certainty” that restrictions currently in place would be lifted by then. It is the third successive Australian summer that white-ball series against New Zealand have been cancelled, and means Australia face playing no one-day internationals in a home summer for the first time in 44 years.