I have been back at the Dolphins for just 2 months now. It has been a made hectic time with the players putting in a great deal of hard work. I am delighted to say that the players have shown a real determination to improve the quality of their play. Unfortunately the weather has rather destroyed our Supersport campaign with 4 of our 6 games so far being heavily affected by the weather gods. I do however feel that the hard work is making a difference and that we have made steady progress.

Beating the Lions in a very tough match last week was particularly pleasing. The lads have played themselves into strong positions during some of the rain affected matches but have not had sufficient time to attempt to enforce victory. As a coach you worry when your lads are putting in a great deal of hard work but not getting the rewards they deserve. Fortunately the effort was eventually rewarded and it was a very happy dressing room after Loots took us to victory with another big six. I was a bit surprised to hear that we had not managed a win for 2 years in this competition. Hopefully this is the start of good things to come.

Loots Bosman’s form has been pretty special so far this season with great performances for South Africa and some spectacular displays for the Dolphins but his match winning hundred at the Wanderers has to rate as one of his best knocks ever. His mixture of controlled aggression and tight defence showed that he is a class batsman and not just a 20/20 specialist. Of course a 4 day win does not depend on one player’s performance and although Bosman’s effort got the team over the line on the 4^th day there was a pleasing overall team contribution through the 4 days.

We have 2 important Supersport matches in December. Hopefully we can continue to improve the quality of our cricket. Some of younger lads have made great progress over the past months and it would be fantastic to see them putting in some match winning performances during these 2 crucial matches.

Enjoy the festive season! I am sure you will find time to watch some of the upcoming tests. The festive season will be all the more enjoyable watching Hashim put the Pom bowlers to the sword!

Fordie……….. (9/12/2009)