'Bubble life, unrest back home affected performance during Ireland ODI series'

South African cricket coach Mark Boucher has said that the loss to Ireland in the second One-Day International on July 13 was due to the pressures of being in the bio-bubble for a long time and anxiety over violence rocking his country.

After the opening match of the ODI series was abandoned due of rain, Ireland won the second tie by 43 runs, before South Africa came back to equalise the series 1-1 with a 70-run victory on Friday (July 16).

"We weren't there the other day. Our awareness was down; our intensity was down," Boucher said of the match his team lost on July 13.

"We looked at quite a few things without making excuses. We had a long chat after the game and we said, 'Guys we are in a position where we can't afford to make excuses. You are playing for your country and you have to be up every game,'" Boucher was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The former South African cricketer said that the long bio-bubble life in the Caribbean and very little recovery time before the Ireland series had contributed to the uninspiring show in the second ODI.