Ken Borland

Contrary to what many may believe given the divisive, awful state of the Cricket South Africa Board, the Proteas’ ‘changeroom’ is actually quite a happy, unified premises at present according to two Black members of the squad who attended the culture camp that ended last weekend.

While the Proteas are unlikely to sit in an actual changeroom in the near future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they did spend last week together in Skukuza in a culture camp, which by all accounts was time well spent strengthening the bonds within the team, especially given all the ugliness and bitterness that characterises the administration of the game at the moment.

“We are in a good space and we were even before the camp. But it was a nice exercise for us to all get together and discuss the way forward. Various things were discussed, whatever people felt they needed to talk about,” one Black Protea told The Citizen on Monday.

“The culture camp was good, it was all about the team and what with everything happening at CSA, that’s all we can focus on. There were lots of good, honest chats and when you’re losing, any issue seems to be magnified. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the platform is there. Team culture is the big thing and we want to drive that not just at national level but domestically too,” a Black African Protea told The Citizen.

And, vitally, it is the players themselves who have been put in charge of ensuring there is a healthy culture within the side. That culture will also play an important role in ensuring that disaffected players feel empowered to speak out without worrying about losing their place in the team.

“Management wanted the players to drive it and nobody was pushed towards having a certain belief. It’s not about being comfortable in the team but about a player being able to say he feels hard done by. It’s important to have a platform to speak about those things and not be judged. In the past players were worried about their position in the team if they spoke out.

“We are trying to drive a culture where nothing will be held against you. For instance, I can only judge by my experience and if I’ve had good experiences with Mark Boucher as coach, it’s not for me to say that others are wrong if they say they have not had good experiences. We have a template now at least and we will continue to work on it. Win or lose that culture must still be driven by the players,” the Black African said on Monday.