High-flying Dolphins eager to continue strong form
Following three consecutive wins in the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series, the
Hollywoodbets Dolphins welcome the North West Dragons to Hollywoodbets
Kingsmead Stadium for their penultimate match in the red ball competition
starting on Sunday.
After the players returned from the SA20 competition, the Dolphins have
been in imperious form, beating Six Gun Grill Western Province at home, the
Itec Knights on the road and then the Momentum Multiply Titans at Kingsmead.
The famous Durban ground has quietly become a fortress for the Dolphins and you have to go back to December 2019 to see the last time the Dolphins lost at home. In the subsequent period, they have won six four-day matches and drawn four.
Going into their showdown with North West, captain SJ Erwee doesn’t feel the alarm bells are ringing for the batting unit and wants the batters to stay calm and back their ability.
“We haven’t got the first innings batting bonus points that we would like to,” Erwee said.
“I feel like it might just be a mental issue, because this batting unit and the guys that we have in the team have scored runs in the past, and got those bonus points before.
“I think we might just have to regroup and have a bit of a chat about our batting.”
With three consecutive matches under the belt and another two to come, the Dolphins workload has hiked dramatically, but for Erwee and his charges they want to continue playing.
“Momentum is everything you want as a sports person, and we’ve got good momentum going, especially given how difficult it is to win in four day cricket.
“Having momentum in four day cricket is crucial, especially when you have so many games back-to-back, and we know what we need to do with two more massive games coming up.”
The Dolphins went into their match with the Titans without a number of their in-form players and the players that came in stepped up. For Erwee, having a large squad of in-form players is vital for such a congested period.
“You want to give everyone an opportunity to play, and everyone is in good form, but you can only play eleven guys.
“It’s important to look after the guys that don’t play so that when they do get their opportunity they put in good performances for the team.
“We are just trying to manage that. It’s all about the team and it’s important for me that we keep the squad in a good space, so that when players do get the chance, they are ready to go,” Erwee added.
Currently the Dolphins sit tied in second place with the Dafabet Warriors on the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series table. They will be hoping that they can put in a performance that will help them push for that top spot going into the final match of the regular season, against the DP World Lions at DP World Wanderers next week.
Hollywoodbets Dolphins v North West Dragons Squad:
SJ Erwee, Tshepang Dithole, Bryce Parsons, Marques Ackerman, Khaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Andile Phehlukwayo, Prenelan Subrayen, Jon-Jon Smuts, Daryn Dupvillon, Ottniel Baartman, Thando Ntini, Grant Roelofsen.
The famous Durban ground has quietly become a fortress for the Dolphins and you have to go back to December 2019 to see the last time the Dolphins lost at home. In the subsequent period, they have won six four-day matches and drawn four.
Going into their showdown with North West, captain SJ Erwee doesn’t feel the alarm bells are ringing for the batting unit and wants the batters to stay calm and back their ability.
“We haven’t got the first innings batting bonus points that we would like to,” Erwee said.
“I feel like it might just be a mental issue, because this batting unit and the guys that we have in the team have scored runs in the past, and got those bonus points before.
“I think we might just have to regroup and have a bit of a chat about our batting.”
With three consecutive matches under the belt and another two to come, the Dolphins workload has hiked dramatically, but for Erwee and his charges they want to continue playing.
“Momentum is everything you want as a sports person, and we’ve got good momentum going, especially given how difficult it is to win in four day cricket.
“Having momentum in four day cricket is crucial, especially when you have so many games back-to-back, and we know what we need to do with two more massive games coming up.”
The Dolphins went into their match with the Titans without a number of their in-form players and the players that came in stepped up. For Erwee, having a large squad of in-form players is vital for such a congested period.
“You want to give everyone an opportunity to play, and everyone is in good form, but you can only play eleven guys.
“It’s important to look after the guys that don’t play so that when they do get their opportunity they put in good performances for the team.
“We are just trying to manage that. It’s all about the team and it’s important for me that we keep the squad in a good space, so that when players do get the chance, they are ready to go,” Erwee added.
Currently the Dolphins sit tied in second place with the Dafabet Warriors on the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series table. They will be hoping that they can put in a performance that will help them push for that top spot going into the final match of the regular season, against the DP World Lions at DP World Wanderers next week.
Hollywoodbets Dolphins v North West Dragons Squad:
SJ Erwee, Tshepang Dithole, Bryce Parsons, Marques Ackerman, Khaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Andile Phehlukwayo, Prenelan Subrayen, Jon-Jon Smuts, Daryn Dupvillon, Ottniel Baartman, Thando Ntini, Grant Roelofsen.
