Cricket: He's more than just a drummer

A look through the world's most-capped current test cricketers brings a surprise - Sachin Tendulkar (188 tests), Rahul Dravid (164), Ricky Ponting (162), Jacques Kallis (150), Mark Boucher (145) ... hang on ... Mark Boucher?

The 35-year-old South African wicketkeeper's longevity in the game is phenomenal. Yet as he lined up for test No 145 in Dunedin, his career has arguably not been suitably celebrated.

Boucher holds a world record for keeping dismissals that will take years to break, if ever - he has 544 (521 catches and 23 stumpings).

To put that in context, look at the next three candidates, all from Australia: Adam Gilchrist (416 dismissals in 96 tests), Ian Healy (395 in 119) and Rod Marsh (355 in 96). Boucher's strike rate for dismissals, 1.98 per innings, is impressive too. He features below just Gilchrist (2.18) and Pakistan's Kamran Akmal (2.08) for dismissals per innings among the world's top 20 glovemen.

That explains why Boucher has missed just three tests because of form during an international career extending back to 1997. To do it, he has combined meticulous training, relentless fitness and an unimpeachable determination.

Boucher's Cricinfo profile includes his quote that he likes "walking on to the field as if you own the place".

Yet for all his feats, he still has relative anonymity. As former Black Caps wicketkeeper-turned-commentator Ian Smith described it with the title of his 1991 autobiography, Boucher is effectively "just a drummer in the band". He is Charlie Watts amid a bunch of Rolling Stones on the cusp of becoming No 1 in the world.

Smith's analogy has always been a good one. Boucher backs up the "lead singers" - star bowlers such as Dale Steyn.

He follows the lead guitarists; star batsmen such as Jacques Kallis. He keeps the team in rhythm, never missing a beat while the band's frontman Graeme Smith sets the agenda for each series.

Boucher did have a small stint as frontman when he captained South Africa for four tests in 2002, including a 2-1 series loss to Australia at home. The reins were soon handed to Smith.

However, there is always occasion for the odd solo. Boucher has specialised in gutsy cameos, batting at seven or eight. Evidence includes him scoring between 21 and 49 runs in 55 of his 203 test innings (27 per cent) before Dunedin.

New Zealanders might also remember his grit in the one-day format during the 2002 VB series in Australia. He was the Black Caps' nemesis, always seeming to spoil hopes of an early kill. After making consistent forays into the Proteas top order, courtesy of Shane Bond in his pomp, Boucher helped eke out enough runs for South Africa to win on all but one occasion. In his five innings against New Zealand in that series, Boucher made 30 not out, 51, 57 not out, 58 and 16.

This will likely be the last time Boucher plays in New Zealand. He also toured here in 1999 and 2004. The talk is that he may move on after the tour to England mid-year. His test batting form also needs addressing. Last year was the first since 1998 he had finished a calendar year with an average under 20 (18.75), though he scored a typically gritty 34 not out in their second innings yesterday.

Boucher does not have an obvious successor but moves are afoot to create one. The signing of 31-year-old Thamo Tsolekile represents the first time South Africa has contracted a second wicketkeeper in 13 years.

It was Tsolekile who broke Boucher's stretch of 75 consecutive test matches in 2004. Other challengers include Heino Kuhn (27), who has played five Twenty20 internationals, and Dane Vilas (26), who deputises for Boucher when he's not playing for the Cape Cobras.