Boucher hopes to play domestic cricket again

Cape Town: Former Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher is hopeful that he could return to play domestic cricket for the Cape Cobras in future.

Boucher, 35, was struck in the left eyeball by a bail on the first day of South Africa’s opening match of their tour of England against Somerset last week. After undergoing surgery, he announced his retirement from international cricket the next day, Sport24 reports. The TimesLive website reports that Boucher might yet regain sight in his left eye. He received good news on Saturday after an ultrasound at the Peninsula Eye Clinic in Cape Town revealed “no obvious detachment of the retina”. He can also recognise hand movements and, crucially, identify direction of light with the injured eye. His doctor, Shuaib Manjra, said on Saturday that while Boucher still faced exploratory surgery and months in recovery, he wanted to take to the field again for the Cape Cobras. “You know, Bouch is a very stoical individual, a great character who has great tenacity, and that’s the way he’s dealing with it. There’s no obvious detachment of the retina, which is very positive. But, clearly, we can’t say it’s 100%, because we still need to go in physically and have a look at it,” Manjra said. ANI