The Dolphins have not enjoyed the past two weeks.
A three-match tour to Cape Town, Kimberley and Potchefstroom yielded one victory and two losses, while defeat against the Lions was made even worse by the team being docked a further two points for a slow over rate.
Morne van Wyk’s men are now six points behind the third-placed team in the Momentum One-Day Cup with just two home games to go.
It almost goes without saying that even if they win both of them they are going to have to rely on other results going their way.
The first of the games is against the Warriors at Kingsmead tomorrow, the second is against the Titans at the same venue on Saturday.
To add to their woes, the fallout over the decision to lift Robbie Frylinck’s suspension for allegedly punching teammate Aya Myoli has yet to quieten down.
Frylinck, an important part of the Dolphins team during the first half of the competition, was not at practice yesterday, and it is understood that chief executive Pete de Wet is set to address the squad today on any possible fallout from the incident.
Sanction
The Mercury has learned that a number of players are “not happy” with the current situation, not least because it appears – according to the letter of last week’s media statement – that the suspension has been lifted without Frylinck facing any sanction.
In these racially sensitive political times, that is presumably an impression that the union does not want to encourage.
Coach Lance Klusener said he was “disappointed” by the loss of two points for a slow over rate, saying it represented “poor awareness”.
Otherwise he was reasonably satisfied by the team’s display against the Lions in which they fought valiantly to score 268 in their reply, losing the match by eight runs.
Asked about the gap that Frylinck leaves in the team, Klusener said it offered an opportunity for Calvin Savage, who had performed well.
“Calvin has batted particularly well and bowled decently at times. He’s taken his gap and we need to encourage him and give him some leeway. He’s a very good cricketer,” he said.
Klusener also praised the contributions of all-rounders Ryan McLaren and Kyle Nipper, who both struck half-centuries in Potch, while McLaren also picked up three wickets.
He added that said despite the team’s slim play-off chances, the Dolphins would have “half a chance if we win both games”. - The Mercury