Hashim Amla is the new face of South African cricket
Hashim Amla is without a doubt one of the greatest modern day cricketers. Sporting a beard and emanating an aura of calmness on the field, this http://www.senore.com/Cricket/William-Gilbert-c97126 Grace look alike is a force to reckon with. Amla is one of the first South Africans’ of Indian
lineage playing in the national squad for the Proteas.
Born on 31 March, 1983 in Durban, Natal, South Africa, Amla was hooked to cricket by his older brother http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ahmed-Amla-c951. The older Amla was also a cricketer with many considering him to be a better player than his younger brother. However it is the younger brother,
who has managed to silence the harshest of critics with his magnificent game play.
The right-hander has remained soft spoken at the crease but most of the time he very keen to concentrate on playing a great innings. He solidified himself as a top notch player when he scored back to back centuries in his first eight innings in 2004-05.
His teammate, middle order all-rounder batsman Jacques Kallis feels that Amla is an asset to the world of cricket. “He is mentally very strong, has good powers of concentration, knows his limitations and knows his gameplan very well and executed it very well,”
Kallis exclaims.
His motivation and passion can be judged by the fact that he is humble about his achievements. “I have much to prove. I need to score centuries away from home to prove myself,” says a modest Amla.
Amla has been honoured with the South African Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year, South African Players' Player of the Year, Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 Fans' Cricketer of the Year and the Kentucky Fried Chicken "So Good!" awards.
Amla entered into International cricket by playing Domestic First-class cricket in South Africa. He has played 138 matches having an immense scoring figure above 10000 runs. Amla has managed to score 10202 runs with his highest of 253 runs with an average
of 48.81.
Amla’s debut in Test cricket was not impressive. His first match in test cricket was against Indian in Kolkata in 2004. He has played 51 test matches scoring 3897 runs with an average of 46.95. Amla has scored 12 centuries and 19 fifties in his career and
has a highest score of 253 which he managed to produce by playing brilliant cricket.
The young 27-year-old cricketer is an impressive player in One Day International matches as well. He has featured in 42 ODI matches scoring 2156 with the highest score of 140 and an average of 59.88 runs. Amla made his debut against Bangladesh in 2008 at
Chittagong. He was a rock for the team in his last ODI match against India in the home series last month. He scored 116 not out and secured a victory for his team by 33 runs. During his ODI career, Amla has scored 12 fifties and seven centuries.
Amla has been included in the 15-member South African squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2011. Captain Graeme Smith expects Amla to play an important role for the team. Smith feels that their middle-order will provide a lot of assistance to the team to
help them lift the trophy as Champions of the World Cup.
“A quiet man, there is no doubting Amla's immense hunger for runs. He remains a candidate to become South Africa's second non-white Test captain after Ashwell Prince, and possesses the most impressive beard in all the game,” said cricket writer Will Luke.
If Amla remains healthy and in good batting form, his contribution to South African cricket will go beyond the World Cup and well into the future.
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