Australian cricket will not get back on track until the recent "win-at-all-costs" mentality that had developed in the men's team is addressed, key figures involved in the game have said.

In the coming weeks two key reviews will be released that will guide the future of the game in Australia, one from former Test player Rick McCosker and another from the Ethics Centre in Sydney.

Both were triggered by the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa that saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft suspended from playing for Australia.

While those players rebuild and return to semi-professional cricket, attention is now squarely on what caused things to go so badly wrong.

Former Test and One Day player Shane Watson believes the team's desire to win has intensified in recent years.

"Look, a win-at-all-costs mentality has certainly evolved over the last probably five to six years I think," he said at Smith's return to district cricket at the end of September.

"Things have shifted, no doubt, about the desperation to win."

The high-performance bubble

Greg Dyer says cricket needs to be in touch with the grassroots of the game. ( ABC News )

The Australian Cricketers' Association's (ACA) Greg Dyer said the focus on high-performance coaching was a big issue.

"We've put players into a high-performance bubble, if you like," he told 7.30.

"The lack of connection to the grass roots of the sport is palpable."

"When an executive walks into a changing room and says 'you're not here to play cricket, you're here to win', that's another factor."

There was an increased focus on high performance after a seminal review of cricket in 2011, known as the Argus review.

"I think the Argus review did a good job in some respects, has been taken too far in others, and the frog has been boiled over a long period of time," Mr Dyer said.

Cricket Australia also implemented winning bonuses in 2012 but has refused to outline how much players have received over the years.

Mr Dyer said the bonus system was unpopular with players.

"It's one of those factors which says winning is everything," he said.

"The attitude of everyone in cricket has been win at all costs, and I think that needs to come back."

Structural rethink needed: former coach

John Buchannan now coaches Brisbane district cricket. ( ABC News: Michael Atkin )

One of Australia's most successful coaches, John Buchanan, now uses his expertise coaching club cricket in Brisbane.

Between 1999 and 2007 he led the team to a record 16 straight Test match wins and two World Cups.

His believes that, across the various levels of the game, experience is being sacrificed for youth.

"One of the things that disturbs me more than anything else is the lack of older players that are actually playing the game," he told 7.30.

"This notion of talent pathways, and young talent being put on a conveyer belt to international cricket, again I think there needs to be a rethink."

Cricket Australia has committed to release both reviews before the start of the men's international season later this year.

Buchanan said the response to the reviews would be crucial to rebuilding the standing of the game.

"It's going to be all about integrity. So what they say they're going to do, they have to do," he said.

"Whether in the end that means they don't get the results they are looking for … I think the public will tolerate that to a point."

Cricket Australia's chairman David Peever declined multiple requests for an interview.

In a statement, Cricket Australia said: "There are reviews in place to examine what happened in Cape Town to ensure it never happens again."