Klusener to lead Dolphins

Lance Klusener has been chosen as captain of KZN Nashua Dolphins for the forthcoming season. Klusener replaces Hashim Amla, who stepped down from the job on June 6.

Amla took charge of the Dolphins last season, but was unavailable for long periods after being selected in the South African national and A sides. He was subsequently dropped from the Test team after scoring just 62 from six innings, and Amla stated that one of the primary reasons for stepping down was to allow him to concentrate on his batting and force his way back into the national team.

Explaining the decision, Enver Mall, the chief executive of Dolphins, told dolphinscricket.co.za: "Hashim believes he needs to earn more first-class and one-day experience to give off his best in terms of leadership for the Nashua Dolphins. On a personal note he also felt that his priority was to give off his best for the Nashua Dolphins and fight his way back into the South African Test team and that he could concentrate better on obtaining these goals without the added pressures of the captaincy."

Amla himself felt that Klusener, who led the team when Amla was away on national duty, was the best person for the job. "I sincerely believe that I can give off my best, at this stage of my career if I am left to concentrate entirely on my batting," he said. "The fact that Lance has agreed to captain the Nashua Dolphins has made my decision to step down easier. Lance really did a great job last season when he captained the team in my absence. During my period of captaincy I relied heavily on his sound advice and experience."

Sathie Govender, the president of the Kwazulu-Natal Cricket Union, was upbeat about Klusener's appointment, but hoped that Amla would return to lead the side in a few years. "We have no doubt that Hashim will resume the captaincy role of the Nashua Dolphins sometime in the future and having had a taste of being captain for a season he will be able to meet the challenges required of the position then. I am also thrilled that we have a cricketer of the calibre of Lance Klusener to assume the leadership role."