The two-time champions, led by Tristan Stubbs, have already secured a playoff berth following their bonus-point victory over the Jo’burg Super Kings at St George's Park this week and are now targeting a top-two finish to advance directly to Qualifier 1 at Kingsmead next week.

"I think the team culture is fantastic, and it's led very well by coach Adrian Birrell. He's an Eastern Cape boy, and the Eastern Cape people are very homely. They love their home ground and are very humble as well. I know for a fact that Adrian Birrell has tried to drive that into his players.

"We've seen video clips of him walking into a changing room and saying to all the players, 'You must get to learn every person's name around the ground who looks after you, right from your backroom staff to the people who come in and collect the plates.' There's a lot of respect for the people around the ground, and that's shown in their culture as well," Boucher told IANS in a virtual session facilitated by SA20.

"I think the team culture is fantastic, and it's led very well by coach Adrian Birrell. He's an Eastern Cape boy, and the Eastern Cape people are very homely. They love their home ground and are very humble as well.

"They understand what their roles are, and they go out there and just want to win — and in a gracious way as well. They keep their feet on the ground, and I think that's largely driven by Adrian Birrell. So hats off to him; he's fast becoming one of the best coaches in the world," added Boucher.

"They understand what their roles are, and they go out there and just want to win — and in a gracious way as well. They keep their feet on the ground, and I think that's largely driven by Adrian Birrell. So hats off to him; he's fast becoming one of the best coaches in the world," added Boucher.