On This Day: In a Test match played between South Africa and Pakistan in Karachi, the Proteas wicketkeeper batter Mark Boucher achieved a special in the red ball form of the game. As we all know wicketkeepers are important in all formats of cricket and without them playing eleven is not complete. Now some keepers bat in the middle order and as openers, especially in the white ball formats like ODIs and T20Is.
Some wicketkeeper batters have also won ICC events in their magnificent careers. Mark Boucher was talented keeper for the Proteas. On this day in 2007, Mark broke Ian Healy’s record and became the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals in the red ball form of the game. Boucher stumped Umar Gul when Paul Harris bowled. But this record didn’t stay for long as Australia’s Adam Gilchrist broke Boucher’s feat in a Test match versus the Bangla Tigers in Dhaka in 2008.
The legend of South African cricket, Mark Boucher is a top wicketkeeper in the world and a spectacular batsman. Boucher has left his mark in the international cricket arena. Boucher was consistent as a batter and a wicketkeeper behind the stumps. His glovework was extraordinary, and his batting was simply superb.
Boucher had the safest pair of hands as the top wicketkeeper in the world. He has 998 dismissals. He could have reached a milestone of affecting a thousand dismissals. But an eye injury did not allow him to get that record.
On This Day: Mark Boucher’s Dismissals In International Cricket Across All Three Formats –
Mark Boucher has 998 dismissals in the international cricket arena and this mammoth record is a combined figure of the three forms of the gentlemen’s game, Test, ODIs and T20Is. In 467 matches and 596 innings, Boucher had reached 998 dismissals. He was part of the South African cricket from 1997 to 2012 and he has caught 952 catches and stumped 46 batsmen in his amazing fabulous career.
In the fifty overs format, the South African wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher stands fourth in the list. Sri Lanka’s Kumara Sangakkara tops the chart with most dismissals in the One Day International format. Sanga has dismissed 482 batters in the ODI format. He has caught 383 catches and 99 batters were out stumped. On the other hand, Mark Boucher has dismissed 424 batsmen with 402 catches and 22 stumpings from 295 matches and 290 innings.
Mark Boucher wasn’t a player of the T20I era and that’s why he didn’t have much success in the shorter version of the game just like Kumara Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were successful in the T20 Internationals as well. Mark played just 25 matches and 21 innings of the shortest format for South Africa and in that, he dismissed only 19 batters with 18 catches and 1 stumping. However, his career in the longer and traditional form of the game was awesome.
Mark Boucher has the most dismissals as a wicketkeeper in Test cricket. He retired in 2012 but still holds the record for the most dismissals in Test matches for South Africa. In 147 matches and 281 innings of the red ball form of the game, Mark Boucher has completed 555 dismissals. He has caught 532 batters and 23 batsmen have been stumped. His record-breaking tally of 998 dismissals have come from 555+424+19 which adds to 998 dismissals in International Cricket. This record might be hard to break in the years to come.
Also Read: 4 Test Centurions Of The Two-Match Red Ball Series Played Between India Vs Bangladesh
