The table-topping Dolphins have been boosted by the availability of Proteas duo of spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowler Andile Phehlukwayo for Friday afternoon’s Momentum One Day Cup clash against the Warriors at Kingsmead in Durban.
Tahir and Phehlukwayo missed a number of Dolphins matches as they were part of the Proteas side that beat New Zealand 3-2 in the ODI series last week‚ and are now available for coach Grant Morgan for the remainder of the domestic competition.
The Dolphins go into Friday afternoon’s match against the Warriors looking to extend their lead at the top of the pile‚ but Morgan believes that they are yet to play at their best. He hopes to reach the heights of a ‘complete performance’ before the end of the season.
“I still don’t think that we have put in a complete performance since our opening Sunfoil Series game and we are hoping that we can put that together before the end of the campaign‚” ‚” Morgan said.
“Our win over the Cobras on Wednesday showed again that you cannot count us out if you don’t knock us out‚ but with that said we don’t want to be entertainers at our own expense and have many games go down to the wire.”
Morgan faces several selection conundrums as he tries to find the right balance for the crunch final four rounds that will decide who reaches the play-offs with Tahir‚ the number one ranked ODI and T20I bowler‚ and Phehlukwayo available.
“If you have the likes of Imran Tahir‚ the best spinner in white ball cricket in the world‚ and Andile Phehlukwayo‚ one of the brightest talents in South African cricket‚ you are going to select them in your side‚” the Dolphins’ coach said.
“We are going to go into Friday’s game with a squad of 15 and we will make the team decisions closer to the game.”
Fourth-placed Warriors will be without key bowler Andrew Birch after he sustained a rotator cuff injury to his right shoulder taking a catch in the match against the Titans.
In Friday’s other match‚ defending champions the Lions will be looking to build on their recent good form of two successive victories when they host the struggling Cape Cobras at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.
The Cobras have lost two successive matches‚ leaving them at the foot of the table. Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana is wary of the threat the bottom team will pose in the North West.
“The Cobras are a quality‚ quality side‚” said Toyana who welcomes back fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius from Proteas duty.
“I mean if you look at the names in their team‚ there are some top‚ top players. There’s no doubt they will be tough to beat.
“But we’ve just got to stick to the basics and focus on executing our skills‚ hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
For the Cobras‚ the match is one of two in what could be a decisive weekend for them in the competition as they trail the top-placed Dolphins by 10 points with four games to play.
Friday’s Momentum One Day Cup Fixtures - both matches start at 2pm
Dolphins v Warriors (Kingsmead‚ Durban); Lions v Cobras (Senwes Park‚ Potchefstroom)
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
