“You already have four…”

With the unwritten rule in South African cricket about franchises fielding a minimum of 4 players of colour per match, you would think that the Dolphins would have used that to their advantage when Hashim Amla returned from international duty.

Not to be as Doug Watson, the Dolphins’ most experienced cricketer, was omitted from the semi-final clash against the Eagles at Kingsmead on Friday, April 18th.  Adding Hashim Amla to the team totalled 5 players of colour.  The player that Doug Watson was probably selected over was Imran Khan, the Durban High School oldboy.  I watched him bat against the Lions the week before and he top-edged a beautiful six over cover and another edge for four through the slips.  “Ah”, thought KZN selectors, “Immy is playing well”.  Doug Watson played and missed, before being dismissed for a low score.  He was subsequently dropped.  So much for loyalty. 

How dare Doug Watson play for the Dolphins for 14 seasons!  How dare Doug Watson not go Kolpak when turning 30 like all the other great batsmen in SA, discarded from the national setup! 

While the Dolphins pretty much hammered the Eagles in the semi-final and now have a home final, I suspect that the services of Doug Watson will be required in a crunch match.  Imran Khan is not a good limited-overs cricketer.  For 4 seasons I’ve been watching him prod, dab and edge balls for 4….and now 6.  That type of approach will not work against Dale Steyn, the Morkel brothers nor Andre Nel.  Doug Watson’s cool head is what is needed for an important clash that if won, will return the respectability of the Dolphins - something which has been lost ever since the retirement of Jonty Rhodes and the strange selections by the selectors.

Regarding the match for which Jon Kent served his suspension, this was an opportunity to bring in Wade Wingfield or Kyle Smit, some of the seasoned big-hitters whose names have disappeared from all Dolphins team sheets.

Well, off to the final on Friday…..should be an excellent match.  Dolphins have a super bowling line-up, but the Titans have some good hitters at the top of the order.  If they get going, 200 look out. 

My winning team for Friday: Doug Watson, Grant Rowley, Hashim Amla, Ahmed Amla(c), Jon Kent, Pierre de Bruyn, Johann Louw, Daryn Smit(wk), Morne van Vuuren, Alfie Tomas, Yusuf Abdullah.

Tags: amla, cricket, dolphins, doug watson, imran khan, nashua titans, pro20, quota, standard bank, wade wingfield