62 GQ.CO.ZA MAY 2017
Spaghetti Mafi a
three piece suit
R7 730. Ben
Sherman shirt
R2 399GQ: How did the
Proteas change their
fortunes around?
FDP: We sat down as a team and
really got stuck into the ghost of the
2015 World Cup and the snowball
ef ect it had on the team. We were
all in dif erent places emotionally
and we asked tough questions,
such as: were we still as proud and
as driven to play for South Africa as
we should have been? Perhaps there
was a shortfall in that department
and we discussed it in real depth
for a long time. We were extremely
honest with one another.
Conversations happened in a real
way and Owen Eastwood, a team
culture expert, guided the process
and drove the camp. When you play
cricket for South Africa you are
expected to perform at a very high
level because we are an extremely
proud nation when it comes to
results. h e right culture in our
team has enabled us to turn things
around. We are going places where
not many teams have gone before
and that’s really exciting for the
future of our side. We have discussed
our long-term goals and the aim is
to get back to being the number one
Test team in the world. We also
want to win the Test Championship
and reach the i nal of next year’s
T20 World Cup because once you
reach a i nal it’s anyone’s game.
And a number of the senior players
and I are aiming to win the 2019
World Cup in order to end our
international careers in style.