Dolphins hit the ground running despite season unknowns
The Hollywoodbets Dolphins have been forced into a pre-season break following the enforcement of level four lockdown regulations as they prepare for the new season.
It’s another season where there are still many unknowns for all the sides taking part, and coach of the Dolphins Imraan Khan has encouraged his players to take it all in their stride as they were in the process of ramping up their preparation.
“It is what it is I guess and we have to make the most of what we are dealt with,” Khan said. “The lockdown wasn’t ideal but the guys came back in pretty good shape but no matter what shape you are in that first block is always a difficult one.
“The players responded well to it and by the end of the month the guys were training quite nicely.”
Given that the players are not sure when the new season will start, Khan has tried to give them as much freedom as possible to work on their own skills in the early parts of the pre-season.
“We’ve done basic skills stuff just getting the guys back into the skills aspect but there are individuals who want to work on technical stuff.
“When we do resume again it will be a case of building on the skill sets as a team and looking at ways and areas where we can improve.
“It’s very similar to last year’s pre-season so we are just trying to be as productive as we can,” he added.
Khan is taking a holistic look at the side during their pre-season and will not focus specifically on areas as they look to replicate their positive results in the upcoming first season of the new domestic system.
“I think we want to top up on our white ball skills during the pre-season but as the season approaches fielding will be a focus for us and I wouldn’t say that we are focusing specifically on one or two aspects.
“From a batting perspective it’s going to be a focus on spin and from a seam bowlers perspective it’s going to be consistency in hitting areas and white ball skills,” Khan mentioned.
The Dolphins under Khan finished the final season of franchise cricket with two trophies including the coveted 4-Day Domestic Series crown.
Going into the new campaign the spotlight will fall on Khan and his coaching staff, however the soft-spoken coach has a plan to continue growing.
“We can’t take anything for granted and we need to stay on top of our controllables as a coaching staff.
“It is about our work ethic, putting time in with the team, and focusing on the areas that the team can improve and the areas where the players think they can improve.
“Nothing really changes from our side we just need to continue to take care of those controllables,” he commented.
