It's been the elephant in the dressing room. Wellington coach Jamie Siddons admits there are "culture issues" in his team that need urgent addressing as they embark on a six-day camp in Mt Maunganui.
The Firebirds squad, minus their current internationals Mark Gillespie and Grant Elliott, departed yesterday for their annual pre-season tour that includes two days of cricket against Northern Districts.
But the on-field action may be secondary, as Wellington try to get their house in order before their Plunket Shield season-opener against Otago at the Basin Reserve on October 27.
The Firebirds dressing room is known as the most dysfunctional in the country, and this appears to have contributed to Harry Boam's decision to sit out this season.
Jesse Ryder was the source of some dressing room angst but wasn't the only one, and his departure to Otago shouldn't be seen as an immediate fix.
Cricket Wellington are well aware, and moves are afoot to sort it out. A leadership group, chaired by former Wellington batsman Jason Wells and including Steve Symonds, the Hurricanes' personal development manager, was convened. The players reps are James Franklin, Jeetan Patel, Josh Brodie and Gillespie.
Franklin is almost certain to be named captain of the Plunket Shield and Twenty20 sides, but Cricket Wellington delayed confirming that until next week's board meeting.
Franklin will be tasked with leading the culture change, having impressed Siddons when one-day skipper last summer. Siddons, meanwhile, is demanding everyone fall into line.
"Every sporting team wants perfect culture and wants people to be training with a purpose and supporting team-mates all the time. We've probably had our downfalls in those areas and we're addressing them," Siddons said.
"I addressed them last year and some of it bubbled to the surface again and we've addressed it again this year and we'll be very strong on that as our main priority."
Wellington's playing strength is also their Achilles heel. A number of internationals filtered back and forth from the Black Caps in recent years. Elliott is now the only player on New Zealand Cricket's 20-strong contract list, and Wellington's list contains eight recent internationals including their new acquisition and bowling coach, Brent Arnel.
"We've got a lot of ex-Black Caps, and coming back to the next level it's sometimes easy to take your eye off the ball. We're back here thinking our team is the No 1 priority and they're looking at other things and hoping, or a bit bitter in some ways as to why they're not in the team," Siddons said.
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"There's a whole heap of issues and types of people and types of player that we need to deal with. Everyone has got their goals in life and we've got to tie that all into making them think about Wellington's goals."
On the field, it's a big weekend for fringe bowlers Jamie Gibson, Dane Hutchinson and Andrew Lamb, who returned after missing a contract with Central Districts.
With Gillespie in Bangladesh and Ili Tugaga recovering from ankle surgery, that trio and contracted bowler Iain McPeake are competing for the third seamer's spot behind Arnel and Andy McKay.
Young batsman Henry Walsh is also injured, after spraining his ankle in a practice match last weekend.
