Off the back of a busy off-season and a return to the Hollywoodbets Dolphins, seamer Okhule Cele is excited and eager to make an impact at the Dolphins this season.
The right-arm seamer has been involved in two of the Dolphins matches so far this season and will be hoping to gain momentum personally and with the Dolphins as they continue in the CSA One-Day Cup.
Cele moved north for two seasons at the Momentum Multiply Titans after beginning his career at the Dolphins after leaving Glenwood High School and the paceman is excited to be back home.
"I must admit I did miss the coastal life and it's good to be back home with family, that for me was the toughest thing being away," Cele said.
"Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium is where my cricket career started so I am looking forward to coming back a better player than I was when I left. Both knowledge wise and also cricket wise.
"It's always been home for me, and the Dolphins have always been a team that I have supported so I'm looking forward to representing them again."
Cele was hard at work with the national academy in the off-season preparing for the season, and the 26-year-old feels that benefited him because he put in more preparation than usual this off-season.
"It was a busy pre-season for me, I had two weeks at home after coming back from Pretoria and then I was with the academy and then home for a week and then represented the SA Emerging side, so I haven't had much of a break.
"It's been good, and I did need a longer pre-season because of my injury history. I missed a year and a half of cricket, so I felt that to get myself ready for this season I needed a long pre-season," Cele added.
Cele's battles with injury over the last period has been the biggest challenge for the seamer and this season he's out to get as much game-time as possible.
"I just want to be playing cricket for the Dolphins, that's the goal.
"I've always felt that cricket has never been the issue because when I'm on the field I'm giving 100 per cent and I've generally done well when I'm on the field.
"The issue has been whether I will be playing or not because of injury, and I want to be on the field as much as possible this season.
"As a collective it would be great if I can contribute to us winning a few trophies this season but the biggest thing for me is to just be on the field," Cele stressed.
