Hashim Amla

[Sockeye Salmon]

Siddle has picked up 2 wickets to have the Saffies 2/80 chasing 546.

Alma made 43.

This guy has 2414 runs @ 40.23 with 6 centuries, which is OKish.

Of his 6 tons, 4 have come against NZ (3) or Bangladesh (1).

His ton v the Poms was made at Lord's when the Poms made 8/593 dec and SA were 3/393 at the end (Smith 107, McKenzie 138, Alma 104*) so it's fair to say the deck was a bit flat.

He made 159 v India at Chennai in a game where SA made 540 and Sehwag chipped in for India with a lazy 319 and Dravid 111. Flatish deck as well, I presume.

The thing that gets me about him is the number of starts this bloke gets without going on with it. If I was a Saffie fan it would shit me to tears. this summer his scores have been:

47, 53, 19, 30*, 51, 59, 1, 57, 0 & 43.

360 runs @ 40. Right on his career average with a highest score of just 59.

His consistancy is great but go on with it, son.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Hashim Alma

Says to me we might get him early tomorrow.

Good.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Hashim Alma

Says to me we might get him early tomorrow.

Good.

He is out already

[LostDoggy]

Re: Hashim Alma

Siddle has picked up 2 wickets to have the Saffies 2/80 chasing 546.

Alma made 43.

This guy has 2414 runs @ 40.23 with 6 centuries, which is OKish.

Of his 6 tons, 4 have come against NZ (3) or Bangladesh (1).

His ton v the Poms was made at Lord's when the Poms made 8/593 dec and SA were 3/393 at the end (Smith 107, McKenzie 138, Alma 104*) so it's fair to say the deck was a bit flat.

He made 159 v India at Chennai in a game where SA made 540 and Sehwag chipped in for India with a lazy 319 and Dravid 111. Flatish deck as well, I presume.

The thing that gets me about him is the number of starts this bloke gets without going on with it. If I was a Saffie fan it would shit me to tears. this summer his scores have been:

47, 53, 19, 30*, 51, 59, 1, 57, 0 & 43.

360 runs @ 40. Right on his career average with a highest score of just 59.

His consistancy is great but go on with it, son.

Man that is exactly what I've been thinking about Hashim.

He's gotten out when playing bloody well as well. It's strange -- it's like he HAS to hit one bad shot.. doesn't seem to have the concentration to play a long innings (strange for such a classy shotmaker), and hasn't had the luck in that every mistake he's made has gotten him out. If he gets dropped he'll probably go on and make a double century!

ps. the mail is that he's a captain in waiting.. what does everyone think?

pps. it's "Amla".

[dog town]

Re: Hashim Alma

Bit too flashy for my liking. He absolutely oozes talent but he there are just too many ways to get him out. Australia has 3 or 4 plans against him and all of them have worked at different times.

He gets caught between point and first slip way too much for my liking. He plays a long way from his body and can often slice the ball in the air. He really should have been out early last night but Ponting only had 2 slips in for him against Johnson. We will often bowl short at his body for an extended period and then send one across him hoping for that hot chance behind the wicket.

He spoons the ball on the leg side in the air. He is very wristy but again its all very flashy. He hits the ball through square leg when he could easily hit it through mid on. Batting up the top is often about eliminating risk and these flicks are very low percentage stuff.

He has enormous potential but he needs to get the basics right. Play a little more compact and learn your game a bit better Hashim.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: Hashim Alma

pps. it's "Amla".

I was that concerned about getting his first name right. I thought the 2nd name would be easy.

[mighty_west]

Re: Hashim Alma

Agree with most of the above, ooozes talent, great batting technique, but just seems to lose concentration far too easily, he is defiantly a player of the future though, along with Duminy.

Perhaps they could try him down the order, maybe number 5, something like that, could do him well.

[hujsh]

Re: Hashim Amla

Well Prince will be pissed if he and McKenzie keep under performing and he doesn't get a spot

[GVGjr]

Re: Hashim Amla

Well Prince will be pissed if he and McKenzie keep under performing and he doesn't get a spot

Prince is a middle order batsman though and his spot has been taken by Duminy. Perhaps the answer is for SA to drop Boucher and give the gloves to DeVilliers but given Smith will miss the next test that is very unlikely.

[hujsh]

Re: Hashim Amla

Prince is a middle order batsman though and his spot has been taken by Duminy. Perhaps the answer is for SA to drop Boucher and give the gloves to DeVilliers but given Smith will miss the next test that is very unlikely.

Or DeVilliers could open or bat at 3. I can't imagine that Price will be out for much longer though. Or maybe Prince could bat at 3. I wouldn't rule him out

[Remi Moses]

Re: Hashim Amla

For those old enough he is very Zaheer Abbas like,mohammed Azzuridin also[without being a crook] Needs to get on with it after reaching 30 or 40.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: Hashim Amla

For those old enough he is very Zaheer Abbas like,mohammed Azzuridin also[without being a crook] Needs to get on with it after reaching 30 or 40.

He's a long way behind Zaheer Abbas at this stage.

[lemmon]

Re: Hashim Amla

Amla has a tendency to chase a wide one without much footwork. A massive problem early in his career was his footwork or lack there of and sometimes he loses concentration and slips into old habits.He is amazingly talented he just has to keep his head down and keep up the concentration for longer periods.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Hashim Amla

Apparently there's an batsman named Imran Khan (Apart from Prince) in SA knocking on the door as well.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Hashim Amla

Amla will be one of the top five batsman in the world in about two years I reckon. As close to technically perfect as I've seen- the Johnson inswinger that got him was unplayable...as for getting a start and not going on with it...I suspect he's suffering from South Africa's self-imposed glass ceiling syndrome- they're clearly the best side in the world on paper IMO....but still seem pretty insecure about it.