Durban – Dolphins coach Lance Klusener admits their failure to grind out victories is frustrating him ahead of Friday’s One-day Cup match against the Warriors at Kingsmead.
The Durban side were ousted by the Cape Cobras in their tournament opener last week – a match they should have won after dominating for almost the entire day.
“We put ourselves in a position to win again, which is good,” Klusener said on Thursday, “but it’s frustrating that we’re doing all the work and then not being able to get over the line.
“It’s been the same story in the few games we have managed to get through this season.
“I think we played 90 percent of the game, but then went to sleep for the other 10 at the end when it really counted. In saying that, we didn’t execute our skills as we should have.
“It’s a problem we will deal with going forward, when I guess winning hopefully becomes a habit, but it is early in the season.”
Klusener felt it was not inexperience that cost them victory against the Cobras, but rather the result of being undercooked after some unlucky encounters with the weather so far this season.
Apart from Sunday’s game being affected by rain, three of their four Sunfoil Series matches have also been hit by the wet weather.
Their entire build-up to the 50-over leg of the season was also hampered by conditions beyond their control with a fortnight of rain in the run-up to Sunday's game, and further showers this week giving them precious little time in the middle.
“I guess that just comes down to having a couple of practice games and being able to get outside, which we haven’t been able to do,” Klusener said.
“It’s very tough to work on those skills indoors, so we were a bit underdone in that sense.”
Their opponents from Port Elizabeth also had a poor start to the competition after losing both their opening games heavily Ä the latest against the Highveld Lions on Wednesday when they were bowled out for just 110 runs in 35.4 overs.
Klusener, however, said it was pointless worrying about other teams if his side could not bag a win.
“I’m not really worried about them, there’s no easy games anymore,” he said.
“We have six quality sides in the competition and we just have to make sure that on the day we’re a little bit better than the opposition.
“They’ve had a tough start, but I guess they will want to fix a few things against us.”
Elsewhere, in Cape Town, the table-topping Lions will look to maintain their strong start to the season when they face title holders the Cape Cobras. – Sapa