DURBAN – In the end, it was a stroll for the Dolphins, as they pummelled a sorry Knights by seven wickets at a muggy Kingsmead on Friday.
The Knights, as the trend has been this season, relied almost exclusively on the bat of David Miller to make them at least competitive.
Miller, once of the Dolphins, fought valiantly with a tenacious 79, but cricket remains a team game. All around him, the visitors tumbled, throttled by an energetic Dolphins attack.
Attie Maposa took the plaudits, with four for 46 from his quota of ten overs. The left-armer was bowling to a plan, with the short ball in regular use. Indeed, even the wicket of the well-set Miller was by virtue of one dug in, which the Proteas southpaw mistimed to mid-on.
Calvin Savage took two wickets, carrying on his return to regular action, while Robbie Frylinck produced a gem of a leg-cutter to get rid of Patrick Kruger.
There was no respite for the Knights, a team looking rudderless without Theunis de Bruyn's runs and single-mindedness.
Miller drove down the ground with terrific force, but he was playing captain of a sinking Titanic.
Eventually, the Dolphins rolled them over for 193, with 49 balls still to spare.
In response, the Dolphins tore in. Erwee drove every bit as surely as Miller, while Morne van Wyk played with the freedom of a man in fine fettle. His shot over extra-cover for six, caught by a merry spectator on the grass, was one of the strokes of the match.
Van Wyk (22) fell immediately after, though, as Rudi Second produced a leaping catch to rival the stunner that Prenelan Subrayen had plucked in the Knights' knock. Senuran Muthusamy cane and went for 14, before skipper Khaya Zondo made a welcome return to form, with a composed 43 not out.
Erwee fell just before the end, caught on the square-leg fence for a fine 84.
Sibonelo Makhanya administered the last rites with a six and a four, as the Durban outfit claimed a bonus point in the process.
The only blip for the Dolphins was the loss of Cody Chetty to a freak injury in the field, and he left the match to have scans on his collarbone. There are fears that he may be out for over a month, though those will be tempered by the imminent return of Dane Vilas and Vaughn van Jaarsveld.
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