Cricket
Klusener set to lift Dolphins
2012-01-30 14:29
Durban - Former Proteas all-rounder Lance Klusener aims to bring back pride to the Dolphins jersey after taking over as interim coach of the KwaZulu-Natal cricket franchise.
The former SA star replaced his own former boss, Graham Ford, last week and was handed the reins until the end of the current season.
Klusener was the last man to lead the Dolphins to silverware when he captained the team to a shared SuperSport Series title in the 2005/06 season.
"I'd like to carry on with much of what Graham Ford brought to the team and think maybe, from my side, beef up the discipline," Klusener said.
"That's mainly in terms of how the players take on the responsibility of playing for a team like the Dolphins.
"I think if we can do that and bring that pride back of playing for the Dolphins, it will go a long way to helping this team play good cricket again and also help bring the fans back to the stadium."
Klusener conceded there was enough talent in the province to work with and hoped the team could quickly pick themselves up after a poor season thus far.
After finishing fourth out of six teams in the One-day Cup, the Dolphins are log bottom with two rounds left in the SuperSport Series, with only one win from eight games.
"Fordy has left a massive gap," Klusener said of his predecessor.
"He's a mentor of mine and I'll attempt to full those big shoes.
"Hopefully it will be a seamless transition and we can pick things up quickly.
"It's really a privilege for me and a nice situation because I am so at home here.
"That helped me make my decision because it's never easy to come into a team during the middle of a season, so I look forward to it as a challenge."
Klusener, who played 49 Tests and made 171 ODI appearances for the Proteas between 1996 and 2004, has no experience as a head coach.
He has, however, completed a level-three coaching course at the Cricket SA (CSA) High Performance Centre in Pretoria.
He is also a coaching consult for Indian Premier League side the Mumbai Indians and admitted that, if all went well during his initial two-month stint with the Dolphins, there was no stopping him from reapplying for the position on a full-time basis.
"I do understand to a point that the longer-term is probably a more extensive process," he said.
"So depending on how we go and how I personally enjoy it, there's certainly an option going forward."