Proteas coach Mark Boucher has warned his squad that the hard work starts now.
Boucher, whose manne pulled together at a camp in Skukuza last month to create a new team culture, says he is happy that his players are all happy now.
But he warns them that they now have to make their supporters happy by delivering on the pitch after not playing since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Currently lying sixth in the Test rankings, and fifth in the white ball formats, Boucher calls for immediate results.
He says: “It’s all about performance and that’s key for me.
“We don’t want to be a nice group of guys and be eighth in the world.
“I’d rather be a challenging group of guys and be competing for the number one spot and they all want that as well which is great to hear.
“We’re all aligned in the right direction, and although it’s all still words, we still need to go out there and try and live it, rather than have it be words coming out of our mouths.
“I’m happy that the players are happy, but now the hard work starts.
“We want to get on the field and start playing. It’s been a long break, I don’t think the players have had this long a break since school days.
“Although they’ve been practising, you [as a coach] want to put that practice into match experience.
“A few guys have moved over to the IPL, so they’ll be happy that they’ll get some game time.”
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