AS the new domestic cricket season approaches, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins and their coaching staff have stepped up their pre-season preparation ahead of another exciting season of cricket.

The Dolphins had another memorable season in 2022/23 with a CSA 4-Day Domestic Series trophy and a CSA T20 Challenge runner-up’s medal to show for it, but the ambitions of the team are to build on their successes this coming season.

Head coach Imraan Khan recently completed his CSA Level-4 Coaching Qualification, and both assistant coaches Quinton Friend and Mduduzi Mbatha are in the process of achieving theirs.

Heading into the new season, the Dolphins coaching staff regroup again, and for Mbatha, he feels that their relationship as a coaching unit continues to thrive.

“For us as a coaching staff, it’s been really important that we build open and transparent relationships. As a coaching unit, we share ideas on training and plans away from our regular coaching time – that’s where the ideas pop up for me, and we can discuss these further. The openness and the honesty that we have amongst each other is what I really enjoy. I feel that all three of us have our own perspective which helps us to build on each other’s ideas and bring out the best in one another,” he said.

With the new season approaching, the Dolphins have made a conscious effort to focus on a specific format in the lead-up to the season, and for Mbatha, he believes that it’s the right way to approach the new campaign.

“We hit the ground running with skills-specific stuff because, as a coaching staff, we realised that there was a format that we have struggled with, and the season starts with One Day Cup, so we decided to concentrate on that and nail down our 50-over skills. We have been working on those skills and getting guys to explore options in upskilling themselves to be ready for that format,” he said.

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