South Africa left for Sri Lanka on Wednesday without assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who resigned after apparent disagreements with under-pressure head coach Mark Boucher.
Cricket South Africa announced Nkwe’s resignation late on Tuesday despite, it claimed, having made “every effort to retain his services.”
According to the statement, Nkwe “raised concerns about the functioning and culture of the team environment.”
Nkwe’s resignation came against a backdrop of widespread criticism of Boucher following revelations made at ongoing hearings into racism in South African cricket.
Local media reported the rift with Boucher was an issue of personality rather than race, with Nkwe believing he had been sidelined in his role as an assistant.
Nkwe, a former provincial player, briefly served as South Africa team director – effectively head coach – after being appointed by the subsequently-fired CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe in 2019.
Nkwe’s position was abolished after…