Editorial: Amla can focus on batting again

NOW that he has relinquished his role of South African captain, cricket fans can expect even bigger scores from the broad bat of master batsman Hashim Amla. There was always a sense that Amla was a reluctant captain, and that the added responsibility weighed down on his personal performances out in the middle. Though it may have been on the cards, it was the timing of Amla’s decision that took everyone by surprise after the drawn second test at Newlands on Wednesday. Even England captain Alastair Cook said it had been a bit of a shock to hear that Amla had decided to stand down. It came only hours after he played one of the great innings in the history of the South African game. With his team on the back foot and facing a massive England first innings score of 629/6 declared, Amla responded with a brave double century, which helped put the pressure right back on England.

Now freed from the burden of captaincy, Amla says he will be able to focus all his attention on piling on the runs for South Africa. Just before Amla decided to call it quits, another former South African great, opening batsman Barry Richards, made an interesting observation. “He has to exclude what’s swirling around in the captaincy stakes while he is batting,” Richards said. “If he can do that, it’s going to be enormous for South Africa. I think he worries about things that are happening from a captaincy point of view while he is batting and you can’t do that.” Explaining his decision, Amla said simply he felt that someone else could do a better job. Amla captained South Africa in 14 tests, winning four, losing four and drawing six. SA coach Russell Domingo paid tribute to Amla, saying he was one of SA’s greatest players and that his selflessness and sacrifice had made a huge difference to the team.