I think we can all agree that the Hashim Amla of 2018 is closer to the man of 2004 when he made his debut with a host of technical deficiencies, than at any other time of his career. At 35 years old to have an average of 26.84 for 2018 and having not scored a hundred for at least 23 innings’ suggests he is very much on the downward spiral.
He has come up against some world class bowling attacks in recent months with India and Pakistan and even struggled against a poor Sri Lankan team and a substandard Australian attack when his experience and know-how were sorely needed and sadly, not delivered. We all know that every dog has his day and I feel that Hashim has had his. He no longer oozes control and cool confidence when coming out to bat. He now seems to struggle against any sort of real pace and to me this is an obvious sign that age (at least on the cricket field) is catching up with him. He may have scored a 63 in the 1st Test vs Pakistan but he was dropped very early on. The SA top 6 has been on a downward spiral for a couple of years now, the team largely winning with its bowling attack. Sadly he is part of the SA batting demise which is a problematic trend that cannot continue any longer. Consider these figures: 28/4 at Lords in 2017, 12/3 vs India in Jan 2018, 40/4 at Sri Lanka’s 1st Test at Galle in 2018 and only luck saved him from being caught in this year’s first Test vs Pakistan where it would have been 19/3; are all just small samples of how we are struggling as a team and our rock of the past, Hashim Amla, is not the player he was. When was the last time you genuinely felt confident about him as he walked out to bat? When was the last time you were not sitting on the edge of your seat with your fingers crossed begging for the old Amla to come back? When were you last not shaking your head at his latest early dismissal? When did not wonder when he is going to retire? If you answer honestly you will probably say before the England tour in 2017, and that is 18 months ago. In the last 18 months he has only scored two hundreds and those were against Bangladesh. Is that good enough for a Test match number 3? While he will definitely go down as one of our best batsman and be remembered as much for his dressing room persona as on the pitch once he does retire, the question remains how long do you give someone before you drop them? Is 18 months not long enough? In reality the Hashim of 2018/19 looks more like the Gandalf in Return of the King at the end of the movie (without power) than Mr T of the A-Team of the 1980s.
There comes a time to look over one’s shoulder at the youngsters coming through and concede that it is time to step aside. The likes of Zubrayr Hamza, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie Van Der Dussen and Theunis De Bruyn (who has barely got his feet under the table), are all waiting for their turn and considering that Hashim is not the sort of character who would stand in another player’s way, why choose his experience over the new talent, who are all proving themselves, for the home vs Sri Lanka series next month.
I hope that the selectors are not going to be stupid enough to test the young talent against India in October, which is the number one team in the world rather than at home versus the less challenging Sri Lanka? When we did this before, we ruined the test careers of Simon Harmer, Dane Vilas and Stiaan van Zyl.
Putting aside how popular he is, when we consider the last 18 months successes and failures of the SA side, the only sensible conclusion that supports a drive to improve the performance of the SA top six, is the one that concludes that this is the right time for Hashim to go. Hashim himself has never been one to hog the limelight and he is quite simply the most selfless cricketer there is and for this he has my utmost admiration. Tendulkar was only kept on for another season to reach his 200th test, Ponting was kept on 12 months too long and Pollock the same. It is time to exit gracefully after a great career like Shane Warne and Jacques Kallis did rather than to be pushed out 18 months down the line by fans and selectors’ alike.
It’s time for us to take off our rose tinted glasses when watching him and see that he is a man who has lost his off stump and his wonderful career has come to an end, as do all good things.
A View From The Stands Cricket Blog 