Cape Town (South Africa), Mar. 18 : South African cricket coach Mickey Arthur is using "the spirit of ubuntu", whose chief proponent is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to reinvigorate the Proteas ahead of the third Test to be played here against Australia.

The Proteas are in disarray at 2-0 down and Arthur, calling his team a family - even if two members, Neil McKenzie and Morne Morkel, were told to scram after the second Test - is using ubuntu, a philosophy that emphasizes collective rather than individual success, as his chief psychological weapon, according to a report in the Cape Times newspaper.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Arthur fears his players have become too selfish after their success in Australia last summer. It is understood that misfiring pacer Dale Steyn is causing him the most headaches.

"As long as players keep playing for the team, always willing to play for each other, this team will bounce back. I would hate to see it when guys become too individually oriented, where players are looking to do well only to grab the individual headlines," Arthur told the Cape Times.

"The ethos within the team is what carries this group through and it will again. It''s really disappointing to have lost this series, but we won''t give up without a fight. We were really hurting in Durban because many of the players in this team had not lost a Test series before. I told them you cannot be an international cricketer if you have not tasted defeat. I''m sure that will spur the boys on this week," he added.

Meanwhile, Australian coach Tim Nielsen has denied there is any temptation to play McGain in the final match of the series simply to discover whether he will do wonders during the Ashes tour.

"If we play Bryce it will be because he fits into our squad the best. If we start taking a ''Let''s see how he goes'', attitude, it really does become a dead rubber for us," Nielsen said. (ANI)