Johannesburg – The Dolphins' hopes of a second trophy this season may be receding, but captain Morne van Wyk sees the remaining three games of the domestic four-day series as an opportunity for his side to make further progress in seasons to come.
Van Wyk has not entirely given up on chasing down the table-topping Cape Cobras.
Should the weather in Benoni hold up then the Dolphins have a chance to make up ground when they take on the Titans at Willowmoore Park on Thursday.
Although the Dolphins are around 27 points behind the Cobras, an encouraging campaign has seen several new players acquit themselves well in four-day cricket.
Fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon burst onto the scene three weeks ago when he claimed a five-wicket haul on debut, and left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi repeated the feat last weekend.
“I guess with the Cobras winning again you sort of have to think that it's going their way again, but we'll have to try and win the next three and then see where we are in the first week of April,” said Van Wyk.
“We're just looking for our guys to keep on maturing and keep getting better and better with an eye on seasons to come. We could be even closer come this time next season.”
The Dolphins will maintain the same squad for the game against the bottom side the Titans, having been denied a crack at a result last weekend by the weather in East London.
The Titans have won just one game all season, and captain Henry Davids confirmed they were likely to give youth a chance.
Otherwise the hosts will be hoping that a couple of older faces manage to prove their fitness and that the weather changes after 10 days of heavy rain.
“Ethy (Mbhalati) is back in training but we're not sure if he'll be ready,” Davids said.
“Marchant (de Lange) is bowling well and is fit and strong, so there's a good chance that he'll play.” – Sapa