Hashim Amla delighted with match practice - Cricket News Update
Top order South African batsman, Hashim Amla, is convinced that the warm-up game against Australia A is helping the Proteas before they take on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the much hyped Test series.
Although the dead wicket hasn't granted chances for the bowlers, nonetheless, the 29-year-old Amla believes any time spent out in the middle is ultimate groundwork for the Test series.
"It's good preparation anyway. Time in the middle no matter what the wicket is invaluable," Amla said after the South Africans ended the 2nd day on 128 for 1. "I'm sure if you had to ask Graeme [Smith], Alviro [Petersen] or myself whether we would prefer a net session or a hit in the middle in a practice match, we'd take the match."
The Sydney Cricket Ground is quite slow with no backing for the bowlers, whereas the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) pitch is likely to have speed, bounce and pace. The South Africans tried to get their warm-up game shifted to Brisbane (Gabba) as they feared of not gaining anything from playing in Sydney. However, their appeal was rejected.
Moreover, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HM-Amla-c1557 elaborated on the advantage for the bowlers. "All our seamers got a bowl and Imran [Tahir] managed to have a really long spell, which is what we wanted," he said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir - South Africa's top spinner - bowled 40 of the 135 overs that the South Africans used up in the play and took two wickets with an economy of less than four runs per over, regardless of being costly to start with.
Amla is one of the nine members of the team who have not played any first-class cricket since this August. Spending four-and-a-half sessions in the field was also noteworthy, according to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hamisi-Abdallah-c61368, to prepare themselves for the severity of Test cricket. He also added; "During Tests, you may field for a whole day and you need to get used to that fatigue you may get in the legs".
The South Africans are the reigning number-one team in Test cricket, and to go against their arch rivals and one of the most prolific Test sides in the world, would require them to give their best in order to stamp their authority against the mighty Aussies.
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