Decision to name Amla Test captain not straight forward even for player

Historic day for South Africa as Hashim Amla is named national Test cricket captain in Johannesburg and becomes the first non-white player to hold the highest office in the sport.

The Durban-born batting maestro’s elevation should not be hailed as racial transformation working in South African sport nor, will it ease political agendas from the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Lets get one thing clear about Amla’s appointment as Test captain: this is not a gesture of “tokenism” in a country divided by political reform and interference.

This is deserved reward for years of success and his quality as an “elder statesman” within the team.

He is one of South Africa’s greatest cricketers; a batsman of the highest order and an impecable role-model as well as one of the calmest, coolest players around.

Amla has led before; the SA Under-19 team, the Dolphins and stood in for the injured AB de Villiers for two Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals against Australia, so he is no novice.

The general consensus is that De Villiers would be a more suitable captain, continuing with the Proteas’ style and philosophy instilled under former Test captain, Graeme Smith.

Smith led from the front, was the voice of the team, its backbone. He could be brash and never took a backwards step; a leader of men.

The 31-year-old is quiet, unassuming, calm and prefers to be in the background and will add something different to the side.

“It will be difficult for me to comment on what kind of captain I will be. Let the series come up and naturally my style and what I can bring to the party will come out anyway,” he said.

Cricket South Africa were concerned about handing De Villiers dual captaincy responsibilities of both Test and one-day international cricket.

The timing of the captaincy announcement and the decision to appoint the Amla implies that the original thinking was for the wicket-keeper to take the reigns.

However, the up coming World Cup and the workload of having to keep wicket as well as being considered a front line batsman, seems to have been a pivotal reason for the split captaincy.

Convener of the national selection committee, Andrew Hudson confirmed this by pointing out that the primary concern over the next year is the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

”We have a very skewed season ahead of us with 30 ODIs, including the World Cup. So this next season, the focus is on one-day cricket.”

Hudson offered the reason behind the decision as being a balancing act between Amla and De Villiers and their roles in both formats of the game.

“What AB has achieved with Russell [Domingo] in the one-day side and the gelling of that team going forward is something we did not want to disrupt.

“Hashim will compliment AB in terms of his style and what he wants to do with the one-day side, just as AB will complement Hash in the Test arena.

“AB will continue to keep wicket in Tests and that also gives us nice options,” he said.

Read what you will into those comments but it is clear this decision wasn’t straight forward and that Amla needed some persuading despite revealing that he had harboured thoughts on the captaincy after Smith retired.

“When Graeme retired, it came as a surprise to us, especially with him being a young person but we could also understand because of the pressures of being a captain for so long,” Amla said.

“At that moment, I felt with the group of senior guys we have in the team – myself, AB, Dale [Steyn], JP [Duminy], Morne [Morkel], and Faf [Du Plessis] – that if the team wanted, I would be available,” he added.

There it is. Issues over the two Test batting positions vacated by Smith and Jaques Kallis and the feeling that Quinton de Kock is not ready for Test cricket, the makeup of the Test team has dictated that Amla preside over the transition.

With a core of senior players, Amla understands that he will need time to settle into his new role.

“It took the previous team a few years before we found a winning combination – we hope it won’t take as long. But there will be some teething issues early on.

“We’ve got a senior group of guys, all exceptional cricketers and hopefully we’ll get to that point a lot quicker than before.”

 

Smith bows out a legend of the game

It had to happen someday. When the news came, it came with a thud, a thud not unlike the sound of Graeme Smith’s bat pulverising a hapless short ball; a back foot pull, slightly on the front foot, racing to the fence for four: Fetch!

The announcement of the retirement of South Africa Test captain, Graeme Smith has shocked and surprised in equal measure. Smith is going out on his own terms and that is admirable: too many players overstay their welcome; for records, money or sometimes because they don’t know the writings on the wall.

This can be detrimental to a team’s cohesion; hanging around can leave a mustiness, that despite opening the window, will not disappear. Delaying retirement can stifle the rejuvenation of the team, thereby undoing all the hard work it took to build in the first place. Smith didn’t let that happen.

‘Legend’ and ‘greatness’ is bandied about too often in modern day cricket and often bestowed upon ordinary players. This will not be the case with the 33-year-old opening batsman. Smith’s achievements and grandeur will live long in the memory of anyone who saw him play.

However, few sportsmen have divided opinion like the Proteas’ skipper. His achievements are not wholeheartedly celebrated by a – critical – nation whom he served with distinction and valour, often derided in his own country and a scapegoat for the mob, when results went against the team and the fickle demanded answers.

Smith had (and still does) his detractors; those who chose to relentlessly call for his head when he was out of form; every quadrennium when the Proteas’ ODI team failed at a World Cup – and the biennial call for heads to roll regarding Champions Trophy and T20 failure.

Throughout his career, Smith took the beatings, the unflattering murmurs and sniggers at his ‘functional’ technique, his heavy bottom handed leg sided shots, the awkward forward defensive. Throughout, he remained defiant, fighting the demons, real or perceived.

Smith’s standing in the game will echo in the corridors of schools and homes and cricket ovals for generations. Handed the captaincy at 22-years-old, of a timid, shattered team still coming to terms with the aftermath of the Hansie Cronje saga, he set about building a cricket team for the ages: leading from the front.

His debut came against Australia in March 2002 at the age of 21, scoring 68 runs in the second innings against the greatest cricket team in the history of the sport. Although, he is best remembered for giving a detailed account of the on-field sledging from the Aussies. This would be the hallmark of the man, one of strength and unwavering belief in his ability, never taking a backward step.

Smith stood toe-to-toe with those intimidating veteran players and in doing so, set the tone for the change in approach of the South African cricket side.

Once established as captain, he would become so important that the opposition would target the left hander; his wicket dictated the match, the series. Get Smith, the rest will follow.

Smith molded the unit in his own image; a tough, unyielding, unrelenting team, a team he would lead to the summit of the world Test rankings. The high watermark of his captaincy was the Proteas to back-to-back away series wins in Australia and England.

Moreover, Smith is South Africa’s greatest and most successful cricket captain; 117 Test matches (109 as captain, a world record), 9,262 runs at an average of 48.49, 27 hundreds, as an opening batsman which is remarkable. Many will feel that Smith has a few more years left in him, some – bowlers especially – will be happy to see the back of him.

The cracks had appeared. His recent spate of dropped catches – the reflexes slowing with father time and his run of poor form, especially against fast bowling, had perhaps influenced his decision. After all, he had achieved almost all there is to achieve in the game and long periods away from a young family, played its part. But what a career.

His captaincy record is staggering: 109 Test matches; 53 wins, 26 losses and 27 draws; a win percentage of 49 percent. Impressive because his early record was poor and above all else, he had to deal with the small matter of Tests on doctored pitches in the subcontinent, the emergence of England and the great Australian team of this nascent century.

His career highlights include; the two consecutive double centuries against England in 2003 (277 at Edgbaston and 259 at Lord’s), the unforgettable 90 off 55 balls to set South Africa on their way to chasing down Australia’s 434/4 in the deciding match of the 5-game ODI-series in Johannesburg in 2006 – remembered as the greatest ODI ever played.

The 154 not out chasing England’s 281 at Edgbaston in 2008 to win the series, or the 108 in the second innings at Perth, later that same year, when South Africa chased down the second highest total in Test cricket history and in doing so, became the first international team to win a Test series down under in 16 years. These are the yardsticks by which greatness is measured.

His mental fortitude and bravery is encapsulated by his defiance in 2005 at the Wanderers, when he scored 67 off 89 balls, batting for two hours, trying to save the Test after being concussed during fielding practice, and in Sydney 2009, batting with a broken hand and a torn tendon in his elbow, attempting to salvage a draw.

All this will be lost to the Proteas, but time moves on and Smith’s legacy will be one of triumphs and success. Players of his ilk are rare and the game is all the better for that. Smith will bow out; his place in the pantheon of South African heroes indisputable, a colossus, whose like will live in the memory of all who love this great game and will not be seen again.

Proteas’ bowlers dismantle shell-shocked Aussies

South Africa’s bowling attack underlined their status as the “world’s best”, with a sensational display of verve and vigour, in a Test match that will reverberate throughout the ages. 

Dale Steyn’s match winning spell of high quality bowling (4-55 from 20 overs) after tea, ripped the heart out of a desperate Australia; leading the Proteas to a 231-run victory and levelling the 3-Test series 1-1.

South Africa were unrecognisable from the rabble of Pretoria. Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel blew Michael Clarke’s team away, clinching a famous victory that will be remembered for as long as this great game is played.

The triumvirate found their mojo after a lacklustre display at Centurion, particularly Morkel, who gave the tourists a torrid time – making them duck and weave; hitting them regularly – with his most aggressive and best performance for South Africa yet.

Morkel’s first innings bowling was thrilling to watch (3-63 from 17 0vers); his aggression and accuracy was unrelenting. He intimidated a rattled Australia – so used to handing out such treatment, however, their ineptitude with the willow was shocking – one would be forgiven for thinking they were England in disguise.

The Proteas’ extracted more from a wicket, although lightly covered with grass, was flat and slow, they did manage to get the kookaburra to move through the air and off the seam. The decision not to play a specialist spinner seemed careless, especially when Nathan Lyon took 5-46 in 46 overs in the first innings, but was ultimately, of no consequence.

Australia’s seamers laboured whilst South Africa’s thrived. Johnson could not summon the feats of his previous six Test performances and was tame. Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris were workmanlike and didn’t threaten, especially when the ball lost it’s shine and went soft.

If Morkel’s ferocious first innings effort set up the match, it was Steyn’s perfect exhibition of fast, swing bowling – Australia lost 5-16 in 10-over spell after tea – that defined the match.

Steyn’s ability to get the ball to reverse made the difference and Brad Haddin’s deja vu dismissal, not only highlighted Australia’s inability to deal with such skilled bowling, but also their bowlers’ impotence in the swing department.

Philander’s role in the victory cannot be underestimated. He backed Steyn and Morkel up with economic bowling (2-39 from 17 overs) after being expensive in the first innings, ending the match with one wicket more than Morkel.

This victory was no mean feat: South Africa took twenty wickets without a specialist spinner and only 3 front-line bowlers – Wayne Parnell injured his groin and was not able to bowl in the second innings.

With the match hanging in the balance, a storm brewing which threatened to washout the fifth day’s play; the dropped catches and the frustration that comes when decisions go against the team, South Africa held their nerve and kept their heads while Australia lost theirs and the match.