South Africa confirm split head coaching roles as Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter take the reins
- Nasri Alexander
- 16 January 2023
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced split coaches for the national team with Shukri Conrad appointed for the Test format and Rob Walter overseeing the white-ball teams.
The pair replace Mark Boucher who resigned from the position after the Proteas were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stages in Australia later last year.
The new appointments were overseen by CSA director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe.
Conrad and Walter were the preferred candidates over Malibongwe Maketa, who was the interim coach for the recent Test series in Australia, former West Indies director of cricket Richard Pybus and ex-Proteas assistant coach Adi Birrel.
Walter was the Proteas' strength and conditioning coach between 2009 and 2013 before turning his attention to coaching, winning three trophies with the Titans in South African domestic cricket.
He moved to New Zealand where he has coached Otago Volts for five years and made them a competitive team before moving on to the Central Stags.
Walter has also been involved in coaching set-ups in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils.
He will start a four-year contract with the Proteas on 1 February with an interim coach to be announced for the three-match ODI series against England later this month.
The 55-year-old Conrad steps up from his role as coach of the South Africa U19 side but has vast experience as a head coach and winning multiple trophies in domestic cricket.
He coached the Lions before moving back home to Cape Town to take of Western Province where won multiple titles across formats.
He also helped develop young players at Newlands that has gone on to play for the Proteas, including JP Duminy, Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt and Stiaan van Zyl.
Conrad was then put in charge of the CSA's national academy and also took the South Africa A team on a tour of England before settling as the South Africa U19 coach for the last two seasons.
He will first come under the spotlight when the Proteas host West Indies in a two-match Test series next month, as they look to bounce back from a disastrous tour of Australia.
