On the day when Sachin Tendulkar passed 15,000 runs, it was easy to overlook another mammoth milestone achieved in Test cricket: South Africa's Mark Boucher took his 500th catch. The wicketkeeper seems to have been around forever, yet he is only 34. In the past 14 years he has represented his country 139 times, missing only 10 matches in that period. Indeed Boucher has become so synonymous with South Africa's + symbol that I had to delve into the record books to remind me who wore the gloves on a regular basis before him (Dave Richardson, as you ask).
It's not like any other 'keeper has come remotely close to taking 500 Test catches, the nearest being Adam Gilchrist with 379. Of course, Gilly had to wait a while before getting his chance in the great Aussie side because Ian Healy had been the incumbent for 119 Tests before him. Indeed, Healy ranks third in he all-time list, ahead of another Australian legend Rod Marsh and West Indies' Jeff Dujon. Boucher also has more than 400 ODI catches to his name, although AB De Villiers' superior batting firepower has tended to allow the man from East London to sit out all bar 25 T20 internationals.
Mark Boucher made his Test debut aged only 20 on South Africa's tour of Pakistan in 1997 but torrential rain meant he didn't take his first catch until the reciprocal tour the following February. Pakistan skipper Aamer Sohail was his first victim and he also contributed 78 with the bat. Today, Phil Hughes and Mike Hussey were added to the long list of batsmen who have seen 'c Boucher...' by their names on scorecards. Of course, wicketkeepers don't take catches without good bowlers serving up the ammunition, and Boucher has kept to some pretty formidable 'quicks'. I recently wrote about the line of pacemen for South Africa, focussing on Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and now Dale Steyn. However, Boucher has taken more catches (84) off the bowling of Mukhaya Ntini than any other team-mate, although the Lillee-Marsh pairing a few decades earlier yielded 95 .
Boucher seems to have prospered against England in particular, not only at home but away, too. Maybe that's because both South African and English pitches tend to favour seam or swing, much to the liking of Donald, Pollock, Ntini et al. However, he has a superior batting average against England, too, so it's about more than poor batting wickets. In an era boasting several superb wicketkeeper-batsmen, it can be easy to overlook the scoring record of the South Africa veteran. Sangakkara, Dhoni and Gilchrist have achieved great things with the bat but in Tests they have often been employed as specialist batsmen, only taking the gloves in limited over cricket. However, Boucher has so far scored more than 5000 runs in Tests, including five hundreds, at an average of over 30. OK, so even Matt Prior's average and century count are superior, but Boucher's fitness and superiority to any other of his rivals has contributed to an enviable longevity at the top of his profession.
He has a reputation for being a bit of a hard nut, a driven professional who plays to win, in the Aussie mould, but he has been a wonderful servant to South Africa and cricket generally, showing that an excellent gloveman is worth his weight in gold. It's not just about thrashing sixes - although he has hit twenty of them over the years. It's not beyond the realms of reality that Mark Boucher could reach the even dizzier heights of 600 catches, although 600 victims including stumpings may be more realistic. SA have not been renowned for spin bowling, which is why Boucher has successfully whipped off the bails a mere 22 times. However, with the likes of Steyn, Morkel and now Philander nipping the ball away from batsmen for fun in the next few years, who's to say more milestones can't be reached?
