Busy week of One Day Cup action for Dolphins

An opening round loss to the Momentum Multiply Titans was a difficult result to take in, however with the match going right down to the wire the Dolphins showed their fighting spirit and will look to continue that trend going forward.

With their three Proteas ODI players Andile Phehlukwayo, Dave Miller and Keshav Maharaj all absent the Dolphins have called up Bryce Parsons and Thando Ntini into the side for the next two matches.

In Maharaj's absence the Dolphins will be led by experienced bowler Prenelan Subrayen for the remainder of the competition.

Reflecting on the first match of the season, assistant coach Mduduzi Mbatha and the coaching set-up know where they went wrong and understand that there is a lot of cricket left to be played.

“I think we didn’t bat as well as we could have in the middle period of our innings and that’s what cost us a bit,” Mbatha said.

“It’s only the first match of the tournament though and we are excited for what’s to come because we are a team that takes pride in being a good white ball team.

“There were soft dismissals in the middle which prevented us from building partnerships but other than that I think we showed good fight, and to go down by one wicket shows that we are a team that is always competitive.”

With the Proteas heading off to take on Bangladesh, the squad will be slightly different and it’s now about getting those players into the swing of things as quickly as possible.

“The new guys coming into the squad will be looking to make an impact and they will want to contribute as quickly as they can to the team.

“As a squad we are going to look to try and take advantage of our home conditions because we are team that is hard to beat in Durban.

“We are going to fight really hard, especially at our home ground,” Mbatha stressed.

With such an intense period of matches making minor adjustments is key and being able to pin-point those areas quickly is crucial.

“We look closely at the sectors of the game where we could have done better and address those but try and focus on the sectors where we did well.

“It’s important to rectify those mistakes but I think that mentally we know that we can come back well after that loss and stay in a positive frame of mind.

“It’s a privilege to play for the Dolphins and we know that the players will always give their all for the team,” a positive Mbatha mentioned.

 Hollywoodbets Dolphins squad:

Prenelan Subrayen (c), Daryn Dupavillon, Kerwin Mungroo, Ottniel Baartman, Bryce Parsons, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Khaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Grant Roelofsen, Thando Ntini, Andile Simelane, Eathan Bosch