‘The bus will leave for practice at...’

When Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton formed the coaching strategy which they used for three years with 'Team India', it was radically different from anything which had been tried in international cricket before, and it was high risk.

It was conceived specifically to suit the composition of the national squad and it was 'shaped' by the attitudes and mental 'space' the players occupied at the time Kirsten took over.

The chances that a similar squad of players would be in a similar place and respond in a similar fashion to the way MS Dhoni and his players responded to Kirsten's approach are as likely as a solar and lunar eclipse on consecutive days.

"And we knew that right from the start," Upton says. "Gary knew that it was a plan and strategy that would only work in the short to medium term, about three years." Which, of course, was the length of Kirsten's contract. And the time between his appointment and the World Cup.

As many as 90% of India's training and net sessions in the final two years were voluntary. The players were told that a bus would be leaving from the hotel to the training ground at a certain time but they were welcome to go earlier – or come later – if they felt so inclined.

When they arrived at training they were asked by Kirsten what they would like to do. Nothing was prescribed. Kirsten was determined to break the monotonous, non-thinking culture amongst players which existed throughout his career. Some days he didn't feel like training, his body needed rest. Other days ne needed to train far longer than the 'prescribed' training session. But the bus was leaving, and that was that. He had to be on it, along with everyone else.

So Kirsten put into place the practice routines he believed would have benefited him as a player. For the senior players who knew and understood both their games and their bodies, it was the respect and responsibility they deserved. And enjoyed.

For the junior players, it was the beginning of a journey away from the prescribed methodology they had been spoon-fed from their earliest days in the game. "Do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that..."

The bus will be leaving at 2pm. Run five laps of the ground. Bat for 30 minutes each, 15 minutes against pace and 15 against spin. Bowl eight overs in two spells of four.

Instead, Kirsten challenged the players to think for themselves and decide what area of their game needed the most work. And when they were done, they could leave. Never mind the bus. If they were done, they were done.

It was an extraordinarily high-risk approach and open to the most blatant exploitation by players who were lazy, disinterested or, dare one say it, hung over. But Kirsten knew that those problems were not in evidence. If they had been, he would have been ruthless.

That approach will not work 'en masse' with the Proteas squad, but the new coach will most certainly stick to his core belief that players should be thinking animals, not just fit and performing animals. He will push them hard, sure, but it will be by use of the carrot rather than the stick.

Sadly for India and their fans, we have already seen the collapse of the 'Kirsten method' in that team.