Amla throws his hat into the ring to lead Proteas
MURMURS of Hashim Amla’s candidacy as SA’s next Test captain were confirmed yesterday when his agent, Ismail Kajee, told the Daily Dispatch, “Yes, Hashim has made himself available.”
However, figures close to the process of appointing Graeme Smith’s successor have admitted to being unsure of “how serious Hashim is” about taking on the cares of captaincy.
Besides, Cricket SA (CSA) have been shot in this movie before. As SA’s designated vice-captain in the short formats, and in the absence of the injured or suspended A B de Villiers, Amla led the team in three one-day internationals, two T20 internationals and five unofficial T20s. Then, last February, he stepped down.
“It is unfair of me to wear the vicecaptaincy cap if I am uncomfortable taking over from A B when I am needed,” Amla was quoted as saying in a CSA statement issued at the time.
“Captaincy has always been an exploratory area of my cricket but after being at the helm for three ODIs and a few T20s I feel it’s time to groom a successor who has leadership potential.”
Fifteen months on, Amla would seem to have changed his mind. His reasons for doing so remain unclear – questions sent to Kajee for Amla’s attention yesterday were not answered at the time of going to press. But the news is winning attention in SA cricket circles.
“He’s certainly someone who comes to mind,” former national selector Craig Matthews said yesterday.
“The reason people don’t talk about him as a possible captain is that he has come across as being reluctant to take the job in the past.
“But he is experienced and levelheaded and you would have to take him seriously if he says he wants to captain. “From a tactical point of view, he has not had an opportunity to prove himself good or bad as a captain at this level, but within the dressing-room they will have a better idea of that.”
In his 15 first-class innings as captain of the Dolphins in 2004-05, Amla scored 707 runs at an average of 54.38. Along the way, he drilled three centuries. The last of them was an innings of 249 in the final against the Eagles.
Despite those sparkling stats, Amla resigned at the end of the season citing a need to stay focused on his batting.
In the ensuing 10 years, Amla has become one of the pre-eminent batsmen in the game – a fact that has propelled him into a leadership po- sition regardless of whether he wanted that to happen.
Now a succession race in which De Villiers was the clear favourite has been complicated.
He remains the frontrunner, but Amla’s captaincy would mean SA would not need to find a new Test wicketkeeper. It would also strike a blow for transformation. And SA would go from Smith, the ultimate leader by example, to another player for whom performance alone matters more than all the inspirational words in the world.
CSA’s board will meet on June 3 to decide on the selectors’ recommendation for Test captain.