Tshepang Dithole says the KZN Dolphins are excited about the possibility of making the 4-Day Series final and playing at the Wanderers again. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.
Having had their rain-affected match against the Central Gauteng Lions end in a draw on Sunday, the Dolphins dropped down to third on the log, but are still within touching distance of both the second-placed Northerns Titans and the Lions, who still lead the standings.
They will travel to Gqeberha for a date with the EP Warriors this week, after having had persistent rain and a wet outfield cut short their time on the field in the Highveld.
“You make use of what you have; you don’t have control over the weather, but it was nice to get out there,” said top-order batsman Dithole.
“Depending on the results of the next fixtures, we might play these guys in the final, so it was good to be out there and bat and get used to the conditions. We did manage to bowl a bit [on Sunday], so we’ll take whatever positives we can take out of that, and we can only move forward.”
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Dithole starred with the bat for the visitors in that match, top-scoring with 157 off 225 balls (19 fours, three sixes) as the Dolphins were bowled out for 357 in their first innings on day four, while the Lions reached 250-2 in reply before the teams shook hands.
Having had his innings span the entire four days of the match – he was on 47* when rain brought an early end to the first day’s proceedings, while no play was possible on Friday – the opening batsman was named as the joint Player of the Match along with Lions opener Joshua Richards, who scored 130* off 198 balls.
“[The key was] to just stay out there,” said Dithole. “It wasn’t easy; I played and missed a lot of balls, played and got a lot of inside edges. Towards the end, I started picking up more boundaries, so I guess the longer you’re batting, the easier it gets.
“There’s no formula to batting, [you will do well] as long as you’re out there. You can’t get a better score when you’re in the change room, so I just wanted to bat for as long as possible and be OK with missing the ball.”
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The Dolphins will be on the road once again this week to play the Warriors, one of just two sides that are still winless in this season’s competition.
“We are aware that they’re desperate and that a team that’s desperate is dangerous,” said Dithole. “As much as they want to win to stay up, we want to win to get into the final, so both teams will be desperate.
“We did win the four-day competition two seasons ago and we want to win it again; we want to win two trophies, that was our goal.
“We are excited to go to Gqeberha and come back with a good result; we hope that the weather is good so that cricket can be played.”
Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
