Following a number of Proteas and SA ‘A’ call ups for Hollywoodbets Dolphins stars recently, the side has had to turn to the high performance structure and handed a number of young, up and coming players first-class debuts recently.
The inclusion of Robin Smith, Junaid Syed as well as Hlompo Modimokoane in the Dolphins side for their last four-day series clash with the North-West Dragons highlighted how the new domestic structure gives younger players an opportunity at first-class level earlier.
“The nice thing about this new re-structure is that you are going to get a lot of players getting opportunities through injuries and national call-ups,” one of the Dolphins assistant coach’s Quinton Friend said.
“We have lost so many players to the SA ‘A’ and Proteas that it gave young guys the opportunity to play earlier than they were probably expecting which is fantastic for cricket in KZN.
“It gives us a chance to see what these guys can do at this level and also gives them a chance to understand what it is like in the Dolphins set-up and an understanding what the level of cricket is like.
“The nice thing about that is that they can go back to their clubs and explain to the other players how the structures work and share with the guys how much they have learnt.”
The Dolphins have had a number of debutants this season for a number of reasons and for Friend to see local players come through and get their first caps for the Dolphins is exciting and he is looking forward to seeing how they evolve.
“It was great to give these guys a taste of what top domestic cricket is about, and there is obviously something special about them and that’s why they got their opportunity.
“The important thing now is that they continue to put in good performances for their clubs as well as in the academy and colts system.
“There are colts games coming up which will give them another good opportunity to showcase what they are about,” Friend added.
Seeing players make that step up from the club, colts and academy system gives so many more players an incentive to strive to put in consistent performances.
“These players have given other club cricketers the hope that if they put in some good performances then they could be knocking on the door.
“We’ve got to try and get our club players hungrier to succeed and strive to get that call up to the Dolphins.”
