DURBAN – The in-form Dolphins will be led by Prenelan Subrayen when they face off against the Lions at Kingsmead on Thursday. This comes after Keshav Maharaj was rewarded for his good form with a call-up to the Proteas One Day squad for games against Australia and India.
The 30-year-old Maharaj has bowled brilliantly in the One Day Cup this season and left the Dolphins as the highest wicket-taker in the competition with 16 scalps to his name from seven games at an average of 14.68 and economy rate of 3.79. He proved beyond any reasonable doubt to the cricketing fraternity that he is more than just a test match specialist.
"The reasoning behind this is because Prenelan has been good for the Dolphins in white ball cricket for quite some time. He is very experienced and has been bowling really well. We feel that he has the attributes to captain the side well and lead.
He is very well respected by all the players. I'm sure that he will do the job really well" said Dolphins assistant coach Quinton Friend about the decision to give the captaincy to Subrayen.
Keshav Maharaj was rewarded for his good form with a call-up to the Proteas One Day squad. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Imraan Khan's Dolphins side are in terrific form and head into the clash against the Lions having won six out of their seven games to date. They will however face a stern test from the Lions who are second on the log after having won five out of their six games to date.
"It’s a top of the table clash. This is what the tournament is all about. We have to be covered in all aspects. We are well prepared for the Lions and know exactly what is coming our way. We are looking forward to the clash. It will be a big one in the context of the competition.
Our priority at the moment is to take things game by game but we would obviously want to take top spot and make sure that we can end the competition in the number one spot" added Friend when talking about the significance of the game against the Lions.
The game promises to be a humdinger. In the absence of Maharaj, the Dolphins still have established bowling options in captain Subrayen, Senuran Muthusamy, Daryn Dupavillon and the up and coming Okuhle Cele.
Wicket-keeper batsman Grant Roelofsen who is currently the tournament's second highest run scorer (behind only Zubayr Hamza of the Cobras) with 453 runs to his name will be looking to continue his good form with the bat.
On the Lions front, Ryan Rickelton, Nicky van den Bergh and Delano Potgieter are in good form with the bat whilst veteran spinner Aaron Phangiso has been bowling beautifully and is currently the tournament's third highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps to his name from 6 games.