Every cricket team has a culture.

You don't have to be a professional side with team rules, mission statements and bonding sessions in the Brecon Beacons. Culture is simply the values you share with your team mates when you get together to play cricket.

But if you are playing Sunday afternoon cricket, does it even matter about what culture the team has?

It does if you are even vaguely interested in winning.

Because a strong team culture means you are in a better position to win games.

Everyone understands what the tactics are. Player's trust themselves and each other to do a good job. Everyone takes responsibility for winning games whatever their talent level.

Can you build a winning culture?

In the past all kinds of methods have been used to try and force a winning culture in sport teams.

Things like writing down team rules or team nights out are limited in their success because they feel stilted. I'm all for a night out, but I'd rather go with the friends I choose, not to try and become better friends with the people I play cricket with because we had a bad season last year.

But you can build a winning culture in a natural way.

Just act in the way you want the culture to be.

If you want your team to trust each other, take time to build trust. If you want a side to be good at catching, do extra catching practice. If you want everyone to know each other's role in the side, make sure you tell them it's Brian the opener's job to see off the new ball so Kevin the stroke maker can play aggressively against the weaker bowlers (or whatever it is).

If you do it rather than force it you will have a stronger culture.

And as all sides have one whether you act on it or not, wouldn't you rather have one you helped shape with positive actions?

image credit: dhaag