While it was labelled as a rebuilding period for the team, Boucher feels that apart from the One-Day International series whitewash over Australia, the season was disappointing.

During the past season, South Africa drew that T20 International series against India 1-1 and lost the three-match Test series 3-0.

Under the guidance of Boucher, South Africa lost the Test series against England 3-1 and drew the ODI and T20 International series 1-1.

Against Australia, the Proteas claimed a 3-0 ODI whitewash over the five-time World Champions. The tour to India saw the 1st ODI in Dharamshala being a washout, while the two remaining matches were called off due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Proteas next scheduled series is against the West Indies in the Caribbean and if the tour is possible it will feature two Tests and five T20 Internationals. This tour is set to take place in July and August this year.

Boucher says the team's main target will be to improve in Test cricket.

“If I look back after a bit of time to reflect on the summer and the team’s performances and progress, especially against England and Australia, I think that is quite disappointing to be quite honest.

“Especially against England, we didn’t perform like we want to perform. As a new coaching staff member, I think that we did ask some questions. I think that we got some answers, some good and some bad.

“The nice thing for me about the whole summer was the light at the end of the tunnel, especially in our short formats. I think that we still have a lot of work to do with our Test cricket. There will probably be a lot of rebuilding with regards to our team. We had a couple of injuries as well which didn’t help the cause.

“The exciting thing for me was more the white-ball cricket - to see the guys grow a bit. We gave quite a bit of opportunity to a number of youngsters. They are really starting gelling together as a team and not just relying on one particular guy to carry them through.

“The performance against Australia was the light at the end of the tunnel. I certainly know that it is not a finished product and there is still a hell of a lot of work to do.

“That is what we’ve got to look towards going forward now. We didn’t get to play in India and that was unfortunate because as a young side it would have been nice to judge yourselves against them.

“That is my summary of the summer.”

At this stage, the trip to the West Indies is still on the cards, but that can change. The interim CSA Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith, earlier indicated that they will need at least six weeks to prepare for this tour, and anything less than that stipulated time frame could lead to a cancellation.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport