One-Day Cup Dolphins Titans

Gv general view, The One-Day Cup Match between the Dolphins and Titans has been called off due the rain at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, on 14 January 2021 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

One-Day Cup: Washout guarantees Dolphins a semi-final spot

The Dolphins move to 11 points after three matches and are guaranteed a place in the last four of the One-Day Cup.

One-Day Cup Dolphins Titans

Gv general view, The One-Day Cup Match between the Dolphins and Titans has been called off due the rain at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, on 14 January 2021 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

The Dolphins remain top of Pool A of the One-Day Cup tournament being played in a bio-bubble in Potchefstroom.

The KwaZulu-Natal team moved to 11 points after their second match against the Titans was washed out.

Dolphins secure a semi-final berth

The Dolphins started their campaign with back-to-back victories over the Titans and the Knights.

The Titans and Knights also had their match washed out earlier this week, and as a result, the Dolphins have just about sealed top spot in their section.

The North West town, which is hosting the competition in a bio-secure environment (BSE), has been drenched by rain all week as summer rains have engulfed the region. The wet weather has left the outfield under heavy pressure and forced the ground staff to work overtime in a bid to ready the venue for each of the games since.

Although the Titans now moved above the Knights on the Group A table with three points, they face a crucial match-up against the Central Franchise (two points) at the same venue on Friday. The weather forecast is not terribly positive with rain expected during the playing hours set for the One-Day Cup contest.

The pool will conclude on Saturday when the runaway leaders Dolphins (11 points) play the Knights. Pool B of the One-Day Cup will then commence at the same venue.

Domestic cricket has been decimated by the pandemic with the flagship T20 competition, the Mzansi Super League cancelled, and the schedules of the four-day and One-Day competitions disrupted.

The Dolphins are the defending One-Day Cup champions having won the title when the tournament was called off with them at the summit of the log. That triumph gave coach Imran Khan something to celebrate in his maiden season in charge of the Dolphins.

Khan has enjoyed a good start to his second season as coach of the Dolphins seeing his side top Group B of the CSA 4-Day Franchise Series after five matches.

The coach said ahead of the match that the Dolphins are focused on securing that top spot, they are now just one game away from achieving that goal.

“If we look towards the semi-finals there’s no reserve day, so if the games do rain out then the team that’s on top of the pool goes straight to the final. That is our vision for now, ensuring we can secure top spot and continue to play good cricket,” Khan said.