Friend reflects on successful One Day Cup

AFTER winning their third Momentum One Day Cup trophy in four seasons, Hollywoodbets Dolphins assistant coach Quinton Friend believes that the side is in a great place both mentally and collectively going into the upcoming CSA T20 Challenge.

The Dolphins and the Lions shared the One Day Cup trophy after both days set aside for the final were washed out; however despite not being able to win the competition outright Friend stresses that it was still an achievement in itself getting to the final.

For Friend this group of players is unlike any other that he has been a part of.

“The guys are in an absolutely fantastic space at the moment,” Friend said. “This is probably the best team environment that I have ever seen through my coaching career as well as my playing career. I’ve never been in an environment where guys are so close and for each guy in the squad it’s like you are having the best time of your life with your mates all the time. It’s a feeling that we have tried to create and it’s a feeling that the squad has at the moment which is fantastic going into another competition next week.”

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During the final of the One Day Cup the Dolphins found themselves in trouble during their chase but Ruan de Swardt and Michael Erlank were in the process of rebuilding their assault on the Lions’ target. Friend wasn’t too concerned about their position and knew that the side had enough quality to win the match.

“I still had all the confidence that we would have been able to pull it through because we had done it before during the competition. I had faith in the rest of the guys to handle the situation and get the job done.”

With an impressive record in the 50 over competition over the last four seasons, Friend believes that they are getting themselves into a position where they are the team to beat.

Friend and the Dolphins squad appreciate that they are becoming a strong force in domestic cricket and the assistant coach understands why this is the case.

“The other franchises are seeing the Dolphins as a difficult side to beat,” he commented. “White ball cricket does seem to be a format that the Dolphins cricketers enjoy because they are natural ball strikers.”

The Dolphins will now shift their focus to the CSA T20 Challenge starting at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in a Bio-Secure Environment (BSE) from 19 February to 1 March.

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