Hollywoodbets Dolphins Coach reflects on a strong 2023-24 season

As the off-season kicks in, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins players and coaching staff head into a little break before returning to pre-season training with a renewed focus and enthusiasm going into the new season.

Hollywoodbets Dolphins enjoyed a strong 2023-24 season, having made the T20 Challenge final and missed out marginally on the 4-Day Domestic Series final.

The Dolphins regained the services of Okuhle Cele, who returned to Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium from Pretoria in the off-season, and the seamer was one of the stand-out players for the Dolphins.

The consistency of his performances meant that he was awarded the Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards at the recent Hollywoodbets Dolphins awards evening.

It was a season to savour with the bat for Marques Ackerman, who returned to form in the longest format and played a vital role in the Dolphins' march to the T20 final.

For coach Imraan Khan, while the team hoped to add another trophy to the cabinet, he believes there were many positives that came from it.

“It's been another good season by the team. Disappointing to have not got over the line in a couple of the competitions but the effort from the group and quality of cricket was of a real high standard.” Khan said.

“The squad showed incredible depth throughout, and we tested our whole squad during the T20 competition, and they proved that they belong at this level.

“It’s going to be an important off-season for us to regroup and develop ways for us to win those crunch moments that we might have let slip this past season.”

MIX OF YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE

The Dolphins have bid farewell to a few players and haven’t confirmed their squad for the upcoming season. For Khan, it’s going to be important that the core members of the squad continue to perform.

“We’ve got some good young players coming through and they will gain important insight off the experienced heads in the squad.

“The senior players will still be relied on heavily as always but I’m excited to see how the younger players perform in the new season.

“We tested our squad out this past season, and I was happy with how they performed when called on,” Khan mentioned.

It’s going to be another jam-packed season of domestic cricket with another full three-format season and the SA20 wedged in the middle. With so much cricket in a condensed period of time, squad depth is going to be crucial.

“As mentioned, we are always looking at ways to give our whole squad the game time they need.

“We’re going to be tested again next season and injuries are part of the game so the players coming in as replacements need to continue to play at the highest level.

“The players deserve a good break after a marathon season. It’s always exciting getting the squad back together after a break and we’ll hit the ground running again ahead of the new season,” the Dolphins coach added.

The Dolphins will have players involved in various cricketing activities over the offseason. There will be a group of players heading overseas to play a winter in the UK or Europe.

There will also be a handful that will be part of the national academy intake for 2024. The Dolphins will also have a few players representing the Proteas at the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.