Durban – With three more matches left in the round-robin phase of the CSA T20 Challenge for the Hollywoodbets Dolphins they have a busy week starting with a clash with the VKB Knights in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, a trip to Port Elizabeth on Friday and a home game on Sunday.
With three opportunities to pick up maximum points, the Dolphins are still in with a shout at qualifying for the play-offs.
Given that they currently occupy fifth place on the log with eight points, if they can win their last three games they will be in the mix for a semi-final.
Coach Grant Morgan believes that his side are close to turning those narrow losses into wins.
“I think that we are about 10-15% off where we need to be and we have been doing things quite well but we haven’t done everything well enough to get over the line,” the coach said.
“We are not playing poor cricket, but by the same token we are not playing winning cricket and that’s what counts.
“We are privileged to be in this position and we don’t take that for granted at all and we will never stop fighting in this competition.”
The importance of the results from this week’s matches is not lost on the Dolphins captain Khaya Zondo but he is confident that his players have what it takes to weather the storm.
“We were under pressure in the One Day Cup after winning our first three games and we are in a similar situation here where we just have to win games,” Zondo said.
“That’s all it is about from here on in for us and we need to win as many games as possible in order to give ourselves a chance of making it into the semi-finals.”
With the intense run in to the semi-finals, Zondo and his players will have little time for introspection, but that is what he feels is needed ahead of a busy five days.
“The guys are looking at themselves and how they can contribute more meaningfully to the team’s performance.
“In close losses like we have had in this tournament we need to know where we individually could have done better.
“If you bowled a bad over, missed a chance or dropped a catch, those things all add up so we need to put that right.”
The Dolphins face the VKB Knights in Bloemfontein on Wednesday. They will then travel to Port Elizabeth to take on the Warriors on Friday and then finish the round robin with a clash with the WSB Cape Cobras in Durban on Sunday.
Hollywoodbets Dolphins Squad:
Sarel Erwee, Morné van Wyk, Cody Chetty, Khaya Zondo (c), Marques Ackerman, Andile Phehlukwayo, Rob Frylinck, Sibz Makhanya, Keshav Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen, Daryn Dupavillon, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Mthokozisi Shezi, Senuran Muthusamy.