Van Wyk back for Dolphins
Under the leadership of returning captain Morné van Wyk, the Sunfoil Dolphins will look to overcome current table toppers the Cape Cobras at PPC Newlands in Cape Town in their opening clash of the second half of the Momentum One Day Cup on Friday, 29 January.
Van Wyk returns after a lengthy time away from the game due to a wrist injury sustained shortly before the start of the first half of the 50 over competition.
The vastly experienced leader and wicket-keeper/batsman is now however back and eager to be a part of the action once more.
“I’ve been resting my wrist to make sure I can play in this tournament,” said Van Wyk. “The swelling has gone down a lot and its feeling the best it has in the last four or five months.”
“I had a couple of injections in it last week and I’m going to play with it for as long as my wrist will allow me to and then I will go for surgery. For now I’m good to go though and looking forward to it!” he added.
After the opening five rounds of the double round robin tournament, the Dolphins find themselves in fifth position, equal on points with The Unlimited Titans and just two behind the third placed bizhub Highveld Lions.
They will however be hungry to start the second half strongly in the Mother City this weekend as they look to get themselves in the tournament’s play-off mix.
“There’s not much difference in the points between a few of the teams but we’re trying to get a home final and so we want to win five out of five or whatever it takes,” said Head Coach, Lance Klusener.
“These next three away games are important for us; it’s a nice trip that we’ve got and if we can get into it in these next three games they will set us up quite nicely and hopefully not leave us with too much work to do at the end,” he added.
The unavailability of middle order batsman Khaya Zondo and talented all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo for Friday’s clash with the Cobras due to their involvement in Saturday, 20 January’s South Africa ‘A’ tour match against England in Kimberley is offset somewhat by the presence of Proteas David Miller and Imran Tahir before they link up with the national side for the ODI series against England.
Friday’s Cape assignment signals the start of a three match stint on the road for the Dolphins who head to Kimberley on Tuesday, 2 February for their clash with the VKB Knights before coming up against the Lions at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Friday, 5 February.
The Sunfoil Dolphins then return to their headquarters at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Wednesday, 10 February and again on Saturday, 13 February where they will conclude the pool stage of the competition with fixtures against the Warriors and the Titans respectively.
Sunfoil Dolphins squad:
Morné van Wyk (captain), Cody Chetty, Tshepang Dithole, Imraan Khan, Keshav Maharaj, Sibonelo Makhanya, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Ayavuya Myoli, Kyle Nipper, Calvin Savage, Imran Tahir, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Lance Klusener (head coach), Rivash Gobind (assistant coach).
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre
The vastly experienced leader and wicket-keeper/batsman is now however back and eager to be a part of the action once more.
“I’ve been resting my wrist to make sure I can play in this tournament,” said Van Wyk. “The swelling has gone down a lot and its feeling the best it has in the last four or five months.”
“I had a couple of injections in it last week and I’m going to play with it for as long as my wrist will allow me to and then I will go for surgery. For now I’m good to go though and looking forward to it!” he added.
After the opening five rounds of the double round robin tournament, the Dolphins find themselves in fifth position, equal on points with The Unlimited Titans and just two behind the third placed bizhub Highveld Lions.
They will however be hungry to start the second half strongly in the Mother City this weekend as they look to get themselves in the tournament’s play-off mix.
“There’s not much difference in the points between a few of the teams but we’re trying to get a home final and so we want to win five out of five or whatever it takes,” said Head Coach, Lance Klusener.
“These next three away games are important for us; it’s a nice trip that we’ve got and if we can get into it in these next three games they will set us up quite nicely and hopefully not leave us with too much work to do at the end,” he added.
The unavailability of middle order batsman Khaya Zondo and talented all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo for Friday’s clash with the Cobras due to their involvement in Saturday, 20 January’s South Africa ‘A’ tour match against England in Kimberley is offset somewhat by the presence of Proteas David Miller and Imran Tahir before they link up with the national side for the ODI series against England.
Friday’s Cape assignment signals the start of a three match stint on the road for the Dolphins who head to Kimberley on Tuesday, 2 February for their clash with the VKB Knights before coming up against the Lions at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Friday, 5 February.
The Sunfoil Dolphins then return to their headquarters at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Wednesday, 10 February and again on Saturday, 13 February where they will conclude the pool stage of the competition with fixtures against the Warriors and the Titans respectively.
Sunfoil Dolphins squad:
Morné van Wyk (captain), Cody Chetty, Tshepang Dithole, Imraan Khan, Keshav Maharaj, Sibonelo Makhanya, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Ayavuya Myoli, Kyle Nipper, Calvin Savage, Imran Tahir, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Lance Klusener (head coach), Rivash Gobind (assistant coach).
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre