Spin and diversity drive Dolphins to Four-Day crown

Like it or not — and many in South African cricket circles don’t — the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins thrive with their ‘spin to win’  strategy. 

“We love that [opponents] find it uncomfortable down here,” chuckled Dolphins CEO, Heinrich Strydom. His team had just won its second Four-Day title in three seasons, despite losing its final league match to the DP World (Central Gauteng) Lions in Potchefstroom. 

It was a fraction of a point, over the (Eastern Province) Warriors, with the (Northerns) Titans also less than a point behind in third. However, that just helps to reflect their dominance with the ball, particularly at their home ground Kingsmead.

“The humidity hits you when you land in Durban, it’s a different kind of heat, matches start at 9am, you eat lunch earlier [at 11.10am] and there’s the bad light that affects play almost every day,” Strydom said. 

There is also the pitch. It’s dry, it breaks up, it spins. It’s worth reiterating that the ‘green mamba’ of years past, which earned Kingsmead infamy is no longer the case. Now the Kingsmead track resembles something akin to what could be found on the subcontinent.

“We’ve really embraced that and the new way it forces us to play,” Strydom said.

“Obviously having three quality spinners helps our cause and we’ve really zoned in on our strength. We’ve embraced spin and the value it brings to the table.”

Keshav Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen and Jon-Jon Smuts, all finished in the top four wicket-takers in this season's competition, sharing eight ‘five-fers’ between them. Naturally this has led to some grumbles from the opposition, something Strydom said he understood, but which in a broader sense was also beneficial for South African cricket. 

“You see it around the world too, teams creating conditions that suit their strengths. I think for players it is helpful for them to grow their own game, to adapt to different conditions and different styles of play. To have various conditions can only help all our cricketers.”

He pointed to two of his young batters, Marques Ackerman and Grant Roelofson who spent their formative years in Gauteng, playing on the harder and faster Highveld tracks. “You look at them now, they know how to play on the Highveld but have also developed the skills to play on coastal wickets,” said Strydom, who also hails from the Gauteng region. 

The batting was more of a group effort; only Jason Smith and Sarel Erwee finished among the top 20 run-scorers in the competition, while only three batters scored a hundred. “It was about contributing when we needed it most, like Jon-Jon making 40s and sharing partnerships that allowed us to get to big first innings totals.” 

The Dolphins still had to play away and while not as dominant as they are in Durban, they did win in Bloemfontein against the hapless Free State Knights, who’ve now been relegated to Division 2, though that win was as a result of Maharaj taking 11 wickets. 

“Obviously we have a very talented group, but one of the outstanding attributes is how they set aside their egos. One example is when we’ve had to travel, we can only pick one spinner and Prenelan is fine to sit out, knowing Kesh is the No.1 guy,” said Strydom. 

Bringing this all together is the quietly spoken head coach Imraan Khan, who has transitioned from player to coach with little fuss and garnered the respect of his players and the administrators in KwaZulu-Natal.

“I don’t know why, but in his playing days he was viewed as lazy, but there is no questioning his work ethic as a coach. He’s a very intelligent and respectful guy, who is not afraid to have tough conversations with his players.”

Another aspect Strydom points to as being a strength of the side is its diversity. “We’ve got white guys, Zulu guys, Indian guys, Muslims, Hindus and Afrikaners ... every background you can think of, but everyone is thriving, there is a united vision, which I think is an example for the rest of the country.”

There were appropriately rowdy celebrations in Potchefstroom after the match with the Lions, with next week’s provincial awards, set to be another “big occasion,”  where all the players and coaching staff will be feted. 

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.