Hashim Amla, the greatest Test batsman that South Africa has produced
It’s a bold statement and one not made lightly. I’m of the opinion that Hashim Amla will become the highest scoring Test batsman that South Africa has ever produced.
My opinion is not based merely on the recent batting lessons that he gave India, but on his past performances and how he plays his cricket. Amla is the most patient batsman that I have ever seen play, except Jack Russell in that Wanderers Test. Amla plays with total control, self-discipline and with powers of concentration that is unrivaled.
When Amla get’s in, he converts
AB de Villiers has long been touted as the next great batsman, but AB’s inability to convert half-centuries into centuries is becoming a problem for him. de Villiers has no patients at all, he plays at just about everything and it’s starting to tell on his performance. de Villiers has scored 21 half-centuries, and has only 9 centuries – Amla has 16 half-centuries and 10 centuries.
Currently the only South African player in Amla’s class is Jacques Kallis, Kallis has done magnificently well for South Africa, and holds the record for most runs scored by a South African in Test cricket. Kallis is eight years Amla’s senior, Amla is 7 000 odd runs behind Kallis, then consider that Amla has scored 948 runs in the last 12 months – Amla will surpass that record.
Recent Test series performances:
- Australia (Away): 6 innings, 259 runs at an average of 51.8
- Australia (Home): 5 innings, 147 runs at an average of 29.4
- England (Home): 7 innings, 311 runs at an average of 44.4
- India (Away): 3 innings, 490 runs at an average of 490.0
Career highlights:
- Highest score 253* against India.
- Test century at Lords, 2008 114*
- 16 half centuries
- 10 centuries
Hashim Amla’s cricketing achievements are complemented by the way the man lives his life. He’s a religious man who doesn’t drink, carries himself with pride and has respect for his fellow team mates and opposition alike. Have you ever seen Amla swing his bat in anger after getting out? Or shake his head at a poor decision?
Hashim Amla is more than a great batsman, he’s a true gentleman of the game and role model to the South African youth.
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A bold statement indeed. Patience yes. Natural talent ? No. that would be Kallis, Cullinan A.B e.t.c. A gent and a role model definitely. However consider this. 1) bowl him as much as Kallis has been bowled.2) His technique is not the prettiest. he holds his bat way too high and a good team like the Australians on a lively pitch would exploit these faults easily. i hope he proves me wrong but in my humble opinion Kallis is the greatest bat we have had!
Rubbish. Whilst Amla has played well and I take nothing away from him, he is playing in an era of comfort. He has never had to face Warne and McGrath, Younis and Akram. Kallis by far superior, in both technique and his contribution to the team, as is Smith.
Only 7000 runs away from Kallis? There are far greater players than Amla who never reached 7000 runs. (Aravinda da Silva, Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Adam Gilchrist!!!- need I continue?)
Amla has done well but the greatest we have ever produced? Did you forget Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards? Their averages would be over 60 if they played today!
Think before you write..
Thats like saying Robbie Wessels is the best singer SA has produced because of Leeu Loop etc.
Agreed that Amla is a good player, but he cant be compared to Kallis and Pollack.
7000 runs is alot.
If if if if if…
In this day and age, it’s all about figures and results. IF Aravinda da Silva, Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Adam Gilchrist were that good, then they would have got 10 million runs like Kallis has. Hooper and Gilchrist were certainly not of the Test calibre that Amla is.
People always make the call to say “They never faced Warne and McGrath”. That’s like saying the Aussies of 10 years ago never faced the West Indian bowling attack of the 80/90s. We can make that argument forever. No one, now, wants to face Steyn in the form he’s in.
It doesn’t matter if he’s the most technical or not, he works bloody hard to get his results. His patience has been proven, and for good players, that is important – Kallis is a perfect example of this.
It’s great to be able to make a call like this, but it may be hard to achieve what Kallis and other have done over long periods. I think it’s put SA in a really good position, I mean, we’re arguing about great players, and all of them are still playing!
@BlindCripple the title is Hashim Amla, the greatest batsman that South Africa has produced… quite bold and all encompassing.. no? He had a great series, but one great series doesn’t make him the greatest. I agree with sportsmadwilly, Kallis is the greatest.
The article also states quite clearly that he will surpass Kallis and score 7000 runs. My point was that there are great players who played this game who did not score 7000 runs in their careers! It cannot be taken for granted.
No-one is taking anything away from him, but he is far from the greatest. He had a magnificent series, but at the end of the day time will tell.
Understandably the title is a definite bold statement, but the truth is that in the form that Hashim is in currently he shows the signs and caliber of being the best batsman South Africa has ever had.
Also reading to the end of this post, Shaun mentions other reasons why Hashim is the best. Its not always about how many runs you scored but also about the person you are and the character you have on the sports field as a true batsman.
Thank you Shaun for pointing out that Hashim is a pure gentleman of the game.
Good yes, quality person absolutely – best? I don’t think so…
Personally I have always said that Gary Kirsten was the best batsman we have ever produced. Mentally tough and a prolific run scorer, his record will never reflect what either Amla or Kallis’ will because he didn’t play as much cricket.
Kirsten did get to face the Warnes and McGraths of the world and he did well against them.
Other people will argue Richards, Peter Kirsten, Pollock, Cullinan… they are different generations and types of cricketer.
An important thing though is whether or not Barry Richards or Graeme Pollock would (as athletes) be able to deliver the same kind of performance in the sweltering heat, in India in front of the massive Indian crowds… I think it makes you think…
Amla is good and he’s a fantastic role model for SA cricket.
@Tony – Thanks for describing my opinion as rubbish, your honestly is heart warming.
I agree with @Blindcripple you cannot say that one batsman is better than the next based on who he faced. Amla has played against every Test playing nation, you can’t fault him for being born in a different era.
You also mention other players, da Silva, Richardson, Hooper and Adam Gilchrist – they not South African dude. The title of the post is ”Hashim Amla, the greatest batsman South Africa has ever produced”.
With all due respect to Graeme Pollock, in his career he scored 2256 runs with a highest score of 274 including 7 centuries and 11 half-centuries, at an average of 60.97 – a fine achievement in his day. Again Amla already has more centuries and more runs.
@shaun custers if you write rubbish then I will describe it as such.
I mention da Silva, Gilchrist etc to illustrate that there are better players in the world that have not reached 7000 runs in a their careers, so saying as you do, that Amla WILL surpass that mark, is very premature. That was the point I am trying to make. Not that they are South African or not… get it now?
Pollock played 23 tests… so using your logic he would have made 12000 test runs.
Another point is that averages are up all over the world over the last 15 years for all batsmen. Does this mean we have better batsmen now? Not a chance. The need for tests to last five days, flatter pitches around the world and the dearth of quality bowling is the reason. You can only play whats in front of you, so in that respect well done Amla, but in another era (maybe only 10 years ago) he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Personality and actions do not come into it. Cricketers are judged on runs and averages. Thats what defines greatness. As I said before.. time will tell.
Tony what rubbish are you talking about. Bowlers bowl faster today than ever. Bowling averages per wickets are getting less and less. Yet todays batsmens make scores unheard off 1o years ago. One day scores of 300 to 350 was unheard off those days.The game got more technical and more scientific. Cricketers use weight training now, and hit longer sixes. So, please compare batsmens of the same era if you can. thedemands of the game change. Kallis is more accomplished than all our batsmens, but Hashim certainly had a better start than him
amla……u da man
carri on your gr8 efforts
we are bhind u
Firstly,Thank you Shaun for a great article.I watched Amla bat against England when the Proteas toured here.He was a brilliant player off his legs and his drives were awesome.The one obvious weakness though was the short ball and one couldn’t help thinking ‘What a shame’ as he seemed like such a good player.He was dropped from the side after a poor showing and I didn’t hear nothing of him for a while.
It’s obvious now how hard he has worked on his game and worked his way up the rankings. Kallis is one of my favourite players and his concentration levels are freakish.All I can say to all you guys out there arguing about who is the ‘best’ Test batsman SA produced is forget it as it’s an unfair argument. It’s like saying ‘Tyson was better than ‘Ali’ etc. Hashim Amla nor Jaques Kallis would claim to be the ‘best’. They are just doing what they both do best and without all the fuss!! Get bucket-loads of runs for their country.They do not and cannot choose the bowlers they have to face,so leave it at that ok.
natural talented kallis??? def not!! lets not forget how he struggled at the beginning of his career… amla is the total package… he will be the next sachin tendulkar/ brian lara and will be part of the big league due to his consistency and ability to give the opposition nightmares… amla has come along way esp. with the criticism he had to take left right and center which would effect any sportsman confidence but being the humble servant of god that he is he remained silent and let his bat do the talking… HASHIM AMLA THE GREATEST BATSMAN SOUTH AFRICA EVER PRODUCED…Pose the question to any test captain who`s wicket would he want Hashim Amla or Kallis… HASHIM “THE SILENT ASSASSIN” AMLA
with that being said i dont take anything away from mr kallis who is great.. but i think Amla would be better remembered… Kallis would be remembered like cullinan cronje naaser hussain gilcrist etc but amla would be remembered as a legend an ambassador of the sport in the class of the tendulkars laras wasims and waqars of cricket… As for the gentlemen that brought the issue of the fact that he didnt face the warns and mcgraths i think the warns and Mcgraths didnt bowl to the Hashims of cricket
Agree 100%. I have been saying this too – for a while now. What that man has as a package is the real deal. He will rewrite the record books. All the hocus-pocus criticism come from the ‘masters-of-the-past’! Here is a man who has risen above all the challenges and criticism. It is not an understatement, even now that you have to be twice as good if you are not the right colour-just to be given a fair opportunity! The figures will speak for themselves-let’s wait and see.
While it may well be true that, in your statement, Hashim may become South Africa’s highest Test run collector by the end of his career, there is a Universe of difference between being the highest run getter, versus being the greatest batsman of that country.
To consider him in the same breath as Barry Richards or Graeme Pollock is bordering on extreme delusion.
You have forgotten to take into account, in terms of ‘greatest batsman’ from South Africa, the fact that Pollock’s & Richard’s Test career only had a finite lifespan due to the country being banned from international competition.
Barry Richards went on to unmatched heights in both English county cricket and Australian Sheffield cricket, and then dominated Kerry Packer’s World Series cricket with the top batting averages and top scores for the World IX, against such luminaries as Greg Chappell, Majid Khan, Viv Richards, Zaheer Abbas etc etc.
While he may go on to attain the status of SA’s most prolific test run getter, it would be a brave person indeed who would place him in the class of Richards or Pollock.
Quite simply, no SA bat before or after are in that rarified air, not Kallis, Ambla, Gibbs or any of them, and I do not believe I have ever seen a better batsman than Barry Richards. His dismantling of any bowling / fielding placed in front of him, including the best Australian and World attacks, when he was sufficiently motivated to do so, were beyond what people could imagine possible – he was THAT good.