Klusener shocked at Dolphins sacking

Lance Klusener, the former South Africa allrounder, has been sacked as Dolphins' coach after his contract was not renewed. He told ESPNcricinfo he was given "no reason," for his dismissal and thought the decision was "very strange."

Coaching duties for the remainder of the Sunfoil Series, which concludes South Africa's domestic season, will be immediately handed to Yashin Ebrahim and Roger Telemachus as joint caretaker coaches.

"I am obviously very disappointed and surprised with the board's decision, considering the progress of the team in the last four years," Klusener said in the official statement. "I am a proud son of the soil of KwaZulu-Natal and I have relished every moment of coaching the Sunfoil Dolphins

"I have no doubt that the squad has the talent to win more trophies like the Ram Slam title we won in the 2013-14 season, and while I won't be their coach they will all know that I will be backing them all the way."

When contacted on Saturday, Dolphins CEO Pete de Wet said rumours of Klusener's sacking were "not true at all" but on Monday said that the decision had been "difficult".

"Lance has been a loyal servant of KZN cricket and the Sunfoil Dolphins and his passion and loyalty to the team is unquestionable," de Wet said. "That has made the decision taken by the board all the more difficult".

"The board felt that the time was right to refresh the team dynamic to enable this talented group of players to reach the next level, and agreed that a new coach was an integral part of that process,"

Klusener was appointed interim coach at the Dolphins in January 2012, when Graham Ford left the franchise to take over as Sri Lanka's national coach before confirmed in the role later that year.

Under his tenure, Dolphins won one trophy - the 2013-14 T20 competition - and have maintained good form in the shortest format. This season, they lost the final of the Ram Slam to Titans. They have not done as well in other competitions, finishing fifth in the one-day cup with four wins from 10 matches and lie fourth in the fourth in the Sunfoil Series, which is only at its halfway stage, but have only won one match.

Klusener was considered very much part of South Africa's coaching structures and was even roped in as a lower-order batting consultant for the national team ahead of the Boxing Day Test against England.