Former greats heaps praises on Hashim Amla on the occasion of his 100th Test

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen heaped praises on Hashim Amla on the eve of his 100th Test terming him the calming influence in the South African team. The South African-born Pietersen gave some insight on his interactions with Amla and highlighted the facts that make him one of the very best cricketers around.

“I remember him in a match in Hobart, when the Australian were well on top at tea. He came in and in his 60 or 70 balls, scored a forty and calmed the dressing room down. He comes in at No 3, does his job, occupies the crease and lets the rest of the order to play,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by SA Cricket Magazine. He was among the many former greats who were being interviewed by Cricket South Africa on the eve of Amla’s 100th Test.

Former Aussie captain Michael Clarke said that Amla was a very difficult batsman to counter and he hated captaining against him. He felt that it was very difficult to set fields for him. “I hated captaining against him because he was so hard to set fields to,” he said. “He had a great defence and based his game around that but he found a way to be successful across all three formats.

“Like anyone who has played a hundred Tests, it has been a roller-coaster ride. The game of cricket is hard and there going to be ups and down and tough times. But it shows your character the way you get through that and turn things around. It’s not always about statistics, sometimes it’s about the way you played and the way you helped your team be successful, but his statistics show what a great player he is,” Clarke said.

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Former West Indies spearhead and now a well-known face in the commentary panel, Michael Holding wasn’t far either from congratulating Amla on a stupendous career. You have to be a great player to play a hundred Test matches because you are under scrutiny every time you go out there. For him to have performed for such a long period of time, it shows how hard he has worked in the game.

“What is important for a test cricketer is your commitment, your willingness to do hard work and your skill, and Hashim has all of those … you can see it in the way he approaches the game. He can take the attack to bowlers and target an area; he can adapt. That what makes him such a great cricketer.”