Dolphins juniors shining through

Following another stand-out performance of a Hollywoodbets Dolphins High Performance Squad member over the weekend, the next generation of Dolphins stars have made significant contributions already this season.

20-year-old Gomolemo Phiri scored a blistering 64 not out from just 32 balls against the Moothee Ram Tuskers in the CSA T20 Challenge last weekend on debut. The knock catapulted the Dolphins to a commanding position of 178 for five in their 20 overs.

CEO Heinrich Strydom commented “Gomo’s knock was most definitely a sign of what's currently coming through the Dolphins pipeline. We are very proud of this Dolphins pipeline that keeps producing players on an annual basis.

“Massive gratitude to the various role players including our wonderful schools, hubs and clubs, as well as our partners in this space Hollywoodbets, KZN Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and Sunfoil.

“Our Dolphins School of Excellence program also continues to create opportunities for the entire eco-system and it is very rewarding to see the successes but also the growth of some of our coaches, administrators, umpires, scorers and ground staff.”

Along with Phiri, various other High Performance players have contributed to the Dolphins efforts this season.

BRILLIANT START TO HOLLYWOODBETS DOLPHINS T20 CHALLENGE CAMPAIGN 🤩🙌

Hollywoodbets Dolphins start their T20 Challenge campaign with a 14-run win over the Tuskers in front of thousands of vibrant Dolfans 🤩💥

In a entertaining afternoon, debutant Gomolemo Phiri announced his… pic.twitter.com/9MhXpxmS68

— Dolphins Cricket (@DolphinsCricket) November 1, 2025

Nqobani Mokoena’s 23 off 39 balls against WSB Western Province batting at number ten helped them to a one wicket win in their recent 4-Day Series clash. Mokoena, along with Eathan Bosch, added 44 for the ninth wicket to help guide the team to a thrilling victory.

In the match prior, left-arm spinner Aryan Gopalan showed great maturity and grit to bat 2 hours and 29 minutes to see out the match against the Tuskers.

Romashan Pillay has also graduated through the Dolphins pipeline and the allrounder showed his worth when he made 94 in the 4-Day Series against the DP World Lions. Pillay was promoted to the top of the order in the red ball competition and is starting to find his feet against the new ball.

Dolphins seamer Tristan Luus is another young player that is coming into his own. A second season with the Dolphins has seen the fast bowler pick up important wickets in the 4-Day Series with ten scalps to his name so far, the second most for the Dolphins.

For Dolphins coach Quinton Friend, he's not hugely surprised by the performances that these young players are putting in at this level.

"I did all my planning throughout the winter and we got the High Performance guys into the squad from the start of pre-season," Friend said. "It's been important for me to get these players upskilled to a point where they can perform in Division 1 cricket.

"We've seen some real positives from that point of view so I am pretty happy with where we are at but we are always looking to improve in all facets."

The Dolphins will face the North West Dragons in their second match of the CSA T20 Challenge this Friday in Potchefstroom.