Will Titans miss their creature comforts?
THE DOLPHINS are hoping to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the Titans in Pietermaritzburg this week, during their Sunfoil Series clash which starts today.
Since last week’s storm devastated much of the Durban area, the Dolphins had to travel up to Maritzburg to get outdoor training facilities, and they will be banking on that home-away-from-home feeling when they meet a very strong Titans team for the second time in a month.
“You know, Maritzburg is a lovely place. It has old-school charm, but you also get some things that you may take for granted at a place like Centurion,” Dolphins coach Grant Morgan warned.
Those creature comforts – or lack thereof – is what Morgan hopes will be the difference for his side, as they look to unlock a most sincere Sunfoil Series victory duck.
Weather has not helped the Dolphins at all in recent weeks, and the players will be hoping to catch Mother Nature unaware with a morning start today.
Last week’s match against the Lions barely got off the ground, and the previous one against the Knights – in Durban – didn’t get too far, either.
Indeed, the last time the Dolphins played a proper match, it was at Centurion, when they took the Titans the distance, and settled on a stalemate deep into day four.
Morgan will be hoping for much of the same, and then a little bit more.
In Vaughn van Jaarsveld, the Dolphins probably have the in-form domestic campaigner of the season, even if his numbers show 50s and not hundreds.
“I would have to say that I probably haven’t hit the ball better in my career, and it is now just a case of taking more responsibility and getting a big one,” the left-hander said of a run of five consecutive half-centuries. 8pm, SS3
The Titans do have a man who is in the habit of converting, however.
Skipper Aiden Markram returns from Test duty, and he will be looking to pick up where he left off against the men from Durban.
A century and a breezy half-century was what he contributed in his final match before a Test debut that brought rich dividends.
Markram and Dean Elgar are part of a powerful Titans’ side, and they will have to be removed early if the Dolphins are to flourish in Maritzburg.
Add in a varied attack, that also sees Tabraiz Shamsi return to familiar haunts, and the Titans present a truly formidable obstacle for Morgan and his men.
For the Dolphins, opener Sarel Erwee is back from the nuptials of best friend Jason Roy in France, and the hope will be that he can make a meaningful contribution before he again jets off, this time to the Hong Kong Sixes.
More than anything, though, the Dolphins will be itching to just get four days of cricket.
If the weather can play along, they will do their utmost to take care of business out in the middle.