Faf du Plessis and Siya Kolisi are not your average BFFs. One is the captain of the national cricket team, a leader who has recently weathered a storm that saw all the team's management replaced. The other is the captain of the national rugby team, a leader who lifted the World Cup in 2019. As far as 2019 goes, du Plessis and Kolisi could not be on more opposite ends but if they needed reminding it came when they dined out in Cape Town last month.

At the same restaurant was Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who Kolisi had a "man crush moment" with because of his support for the Reds. Klopp was equally starstruck by the Springbok captain, having watched him lead the team to victory over England just ten days before their meeting. Asked if Klopp recognised du Plessis in the same way, South Africa's cricket captain had a short, sharp answer.

"No," du Plessis said, quickly changing tack. "But he (Klopp) said he watches cricket. The Liverpool guys watched the cricket World Cup and he knew about how well England did, so that's great."

Klopp also knows about how to lead a group of people - Liverpool won last year's Champions League and sit atop this year's Premier League table, having also won the Club World Cup - and though their conversation was brief, du Plessis was so impressed with what he saw that he has now become a Liverpool fan.

"For someone to be that famous, he is a great guy, and that's what I believe real leadership is about," du Plessis said. "It's about connecting with people, having great relationships with people, so I became a massive fan. I am not a huge football fan, I don't support a lot but I do support him now."

Ultimately, du Plessis' friendship with Kolisi and admiration for Klopp speaks to something bigger: his need for South Africa to remember what it's like to be successful. They enter this England series off the back of five consecutive Test defeats spanning two series. The one at home, against Sri Lanka, was a dent to their pride - no subcontinent side had ever won a series in South Africa before - while the one away, in India, was the crash that exposed the mass of problems that South Africa have spent the last three weeks untangling.

By now, you already know that cricket in this country has been through an administrative crisis. The CEO has been suspended, sponsors have pulled out, and an interim structure has been put in place to begin the repair job. The national team has been bolstered with former greats Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis as well as Charl Langeveldt and Paul Harris, and has been in an intensive training camp since last week Wednesday. Their preparation - though left a little late - has been meticulous and has confirmed to du Plessis the value of using their international retirees in key roles.

"Why have these guys not been here for the last ten years?" du Plessis asked. "If you look around international cricket, other teams have got that. Think of Australia - Justin Langer, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting. We need that. We want that."

Graeme Smith, Enoch Nkwe, Mark Boucher and Linda Zondi at the unveiling of South Africa's new coaching structure AFP

Now they have it, and it is the start of what du Plessis hopes will be a road to redemption that will culminate in reclaiming the Test mace, at some point down the track. "There is a vision. The Test team is still in an infant stage. The plan is to get back [to No.1]. As a Test team we do need to mature."

With two players, Rassie van der Dussen and Dwaine Pretorius, all but certain to make their debuts, and two others, Zubayr Hamza and Aiden Markram, with less than 20 caps to their names, South Africa's batting is laced with inexperience. Though Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada have played 100 Tests between them, Anrich Nortje has only played two Tests and the back-up seamers, Beuran Hendricks and Dane Paterson, are uncapped.

It's a time of experimentation and testing the depth of a system that seemed to be breaking apart at the seams just a few weeks ago. But du Plessis is upbeat that all is not as bad as it looks. "When someone retires and you wonder where is the next Dale Steyn or Hashim Amla will come from. but it will happen. It will happen. It's about trusting that we've got people in the right positions."

The Springboks followed the same route. After a period of poor performance, they appointed former flanker Rassie Erasmus as the director of rugby and head coach at the start of 2018. In less than two years, Erasmus united the squad and won the World Cup. There is a similar period of time before the World Test Championship final, and though South Africa currently sit at the bottom of the table, with no points to their name, du Plessis doesn't think it's too lofty a goal to aim to be there.

"The final of the Test champions is 18 months away…" he said wistfully. South Africa's journey to get there begins this Boxing Day.