Friend takes up head coach role at the Dolphins

Friend has been with the Dolphins both as a player and a coach and will move on from his bowling coach role to take up the reins as the head coach.

“Quinny has been with the Dolphins for many years and has a very good understanding of how things are done here,” CEO of KZN Cricket Heinrich Strydom said.

“He’s done his time as an assistant, and we feel that he’s the right man to take on the role of head coach with Mduduzi Mbatha right on his shoulder as his assistant.

“The team and the coaching staff haven’t missed a beat in the pre-season, and they are prepared and ready for the new season getting underway at the end of the month.”

Khan, who has been arguably one of the most successful coaches at the Dolphins in recent times, was head-hunted by Cricket South Africa and has taken up the role of batting lead with CSA.

“We want to once again thank Immy for all his hard work at the helm here at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead,” Strydom added.

“He’s been hugely successful as a head coach and as we say with our players, we want them to move on to higher honours, the same can be said for our coaches.

“We are incredibly proud of Immy, and we wish him all the very best with his role at Cricket South Africa.”

President of the KZN Cricket Union Yunus Bobat welcomed the announcement of Friend as the new head coach.

"We wish Quinton all the very best as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins head coach," Bobat said. "He is a critical part of the fabric of the Dolphins and we are excited to see how he takes on the role of head coach.

"The role that Imraan Khan played cannot be understated and we thank him for his service to KZN Cricket.

"Heading into the new season, there is a lot of optimism amongst the staff, players and coaches and we look forward to see how the team performs this season."

For Friend, it was a dream appointment as he looks to continue the strong performances from the Dolphins going forward.

“I’m super excited and very privileged to be named Hollywoodbets Dolphins head coach,” Friend said. “It’s something that I have always wanted and worked hard towards.

“We’ve had some nice success over the last five years, and I must commend Imraan Khan on what he has achieved with the team.

“He was a huge asset to our team, and he will be missed.”

Friend has inherited a strong squad of players from his predecessor and the 42-year-old is looking forward to seeing how the squad compete in his first season at the helm of Dolphins cricket.

“We’ve got a great bunch of players within our squad, and I back them to put in some big performances during the 2024/25 season.

“We have to make sure that we cover all of our bases heading into that first match on September 29,” Friend mentioned.

Friend will have the same contingent of staff that Khan had with Mduduzi Mbatha as his assistant and Devon von Onselen as the Strength and Conditioning Coach, Nick Moffit as the Physiotherapist and Kushen Kishun as the video analyst.

“These guys have done an exceptional job over the last few years, and I am really looking forward to working closely with them going forward.

“Not much changes in the sense that we have been working together for a couple of years and have a good understanding of how I operate.

“Everyone behind the scenes has been supportive and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity that lies ahead,” Friend added.

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins begin their season with the CSA T20 Challenge starting with an away clash against the Dafabet Warriors on 29 September. The first home game for the Hollywoodbets Dolphins is against the Momentum Multiply Titans on 4 October.