Amla is our rock at number three – Du Plessis

Only three centuries in the last two years, with his previous one coming more than a year back, Hashim Amla’s form has been a matter of big concern for South Africa. In 2018, barring four half-centuries, Amla hasn’t had a productive outing with the bat – averaging just 24.38. His last half-century came against Australia in Port Elizabeth in March after which he has managed to cross 30 only twice in nine outings.

With a 23-year-old Zubayr Hamza, a player in Amla’s mould waiting in the wings, the 35-year-old find himself under immense scrutiny. However, skipper Faf du Plessis came to Amla’s defence and said the series against Pakistan offers him the chance to start afresh.

“What is important is time in the middle. Hashim knows he hasn’t scored the amount of runs he would have liked in the last year but it’s a new season and he’s fresh, coming off a fifty. It is important for him to get off to a good start in this series, just to settle the nerves and be confident. Hashim, technically, is one of the most sound players in the world.”

A regular at the No. 3 position for South Africa, having batted there for more than 100 matches, Amla had been moved down the order in a couple Tests against Sri Lanka in July this year. Du Plessis, however, explained the reason behind that before adding that Amla will be back to his usual position in the Tests against Pakistan which gets underway on Boxing Day in Centurion.

“Hash is our number three, he’s been there forever and is our rock at number three. There was a reason behind moving him to four in Sri Lanka. It was to have our more experienced players playing against spin there. Theunis [de Bruyn] came in at three because he was a new player and it gave him the best opportunity at facing a harder ball, which is easier in the subcontinent. But we’ll be back to our normal batting lineup, which means Hash at three,” du Plessis said.

Meanwhile, the South Africa captain was pleased with the contributions of his team’s openers, mentioning that they will have a key role to play in negating Pakistan’s pace attack.

“The opening pair has proven to be a massive weapon for us in Test cricket. In the last season and a half, they’ve got us to really good starts. Pakistan have got a tremendous bowling attack which is in really good form. So our success will definitely get measured on the form of our batters. So hopefully we have two or three batters who can have a good series.”

When the topic shifted to the team combination and the Centurion pitch – which to their surprise turned out to be a slow wicket during the Test against India earlier this year – there was uncertainty in du Plessis’s words about what to expect from the pitch and the impact of the toss.

“I just like clarity when preparing for a Test match at home. It gives you the option of sometimes looking to play four seamers, especially when subcontinent teams get here. But the nature of the wickets, especially after what happened last year, you have to play the spinner. It’s not as simple as winning the toss and batting first. The pitch has changed here so on the day you have to see if there’s enough grass on the wicket, you might bowl first instead. I’ll make that decision on the morning of the match,” du Plessis said.

© Cricbuzz