Proteas take to mountains for team building exercise

Johannesburg -  The South African cricket team will undergo a four-day team-building exercise in Switzerland to help them cope with the pressure of 13 weeks away from home. Embarking on his toughest assignment since taking over the reins as head coach, Gary Kirsten decided to work on the mental toughness of his players ahead of the tour.

"We've got a full itinerary ahead of us, starting next week and carrying on until April next year," said team manager Mohammed Moosajee.

"We will be in the UK for 10 weeks, immediately followed by the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, for three weeks afterwards. Gary (Kirsten) thought that we needed to do something different

for the team to cope with the mental strains of such a prolonged heavy work load," Sport24 quoted him, as saying.

The Proteas head to England looking to win the three-match Test series and overtake their hosts into the No1 spot on the ICC Test Rankings.

Based in the village of Chateau d'Oex, which is heavily forested and surrounded by mountains and streams, the team will enjoy physical as well as mental activities facilitated by adventurer Mike Horn.

"Gary has worked with Mike Horn before (when he was coaching India) and thought the players could benefit from a team building exercise. Mike is giving us four days of his time in between

his expeditions," Moosajee said.

"He and Paddy Upton (the Proteas' mental conditioning coach) will get to his base in Switzerland on Sunday and we leave on Monday to meet them there," he added.

Some of the activities in store for South African cricketers include glacial walking, cycling through mountains, forest walks, rescue techniques and river rafting.