Play-off berth on the horizon for Dolphins
The Hollywoodbets Dolphins take on the Multiply Titans at Kingsmead on Friday knowing that one more win from their last four Momentum One Day Cup pool matches should guarantee them a place in the semi-finals.
The Dolphins have four matches in the next seven days which will determine their spot on the log going into the semi-finals the following week.
With four wins and two losses from their opening six matches, the Dolphins will hope that their meeting with the high-flying Titans on Friday will be just as successful as their first meeting with the Sky Blues that saw the Durban side victorious by 12 runs at SuperSport Park.
The Dolphins are avoiding looking at the play-off stages, and rather keeping their discipline and eyes on the short-term.
“The focus going into this final stretch is definitely just game by game,” assistant coach Imraan Khan said.
“We are going to work hard on finishing as high up on the log as we possibly can but we are not looking at any semi-finals yet.
“I don’t see any merit in looking too far ahead to be honest. We just need to keep our eye on the ball because we are playing against a very good Titans team on Friday.”
The Titans currently occupy the top spot on the log and have hit some form through the middle part of the competition. Khan understands that their side poses a significant threat ahead of a tough period of games.
“They have been playing some really good cricket in their last two or three games so it is going to be another tough game but we are certainly up for the challenge.
“This Friday is also our last home game of the group phase and our record is played four, won two, lost two so we would like to finish off on a positive note.
“It is a busy period but as I said we are going to take it game by game and then assess at the end of the pool stage,” he added.
The Titans claimed a significant win over the WSB Cape Cobras on Wednesday without their run-scoring machine Aiden Markram and Dolphins batsman Sarel Erwee believes that the depth they have means they have players ready to step up.
“He (Markram) has scored a lot of their runs but there are three or four other guys who are just as capable of scoring the same amount of runs,” Erwee said.
“With that said to lose a guy like Aiden does add a little more pressure on the other batsmen and we need to make sure we are accurate against them with the ball.”
The Dolphins follow Friday’s match with a trip to take on the VKB Knights in Kimberley on Sunday.
Veterans Rob Frylinck and Morné van Wyk are players missing from the 15-man squad however young Marques Ackerman and Lwandiswa Zuma have been included.