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BIG BOOTS

TO FILL

Without Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn

to prop them up the Proteas are goingto

need a new game plan BY RICHARD VAN RENSBUR

A

STATE of flux – that’s

probably the best way to

describe South African

cricket right now.

First there was the

disaster of the ICC

Cricket World Cup, fol-

lowed by the sacking of

the coach and his entire management

team. Then batting maestro Hashim Amla

and bowling sensation Dale Steyn retired

• and all this shortly before the Proteas face
  India in September and October.
  In December World Cup winners Eng-
  land arrive on our shores for a tour, so
  we’re going to have to sort ourselves out
  soon. Whichever way you look at it, it’s
  safe to assume the next few years won’t
  be plain sailing for the Proteas.

STABILITY AND FRESH BLOOD

Amla and Steyn – who’s said he’d still be

available for One-Day Internationals

(ODIs) and T20 matches – leave big

bootstofill,sayscricketanalyst and

fast-bowling legend FaniedeV

liers.

Without players of theirca

it’ll be hard to compete against

tries that have the best playe

tems and managements inp

there’s hope.

Aiden Markram (24) andQ

Kock (26) could step up tofil

left by Amla in the battingline

“Markram is fantastic forth

De Villiers says. Markram capt

SA Under-19 team that wont

world cup in 2014 and is being

to take over the captaincyfro

Plessis in time.

Ali Bacher, former SAcap

cricket administrator, says atop

Kock, who’s been No 4 on the

ings, “can win a match for uson

De Villiers says ODI opening

Reeza Hendricks (30) is also“an

gift”, even though he’s beenr

the national side fairly lateinh

“And [when it comes to bowlin

HASHIM AMLA (36)

Hash held top spot in

the world rankings for

Test batsmen and

ODIs at the same

time – the first player

after Australian Ricky

Ponting to do so.

“His success in so

many facets of the

games is unique,” Fan-

ie de Villiers says.

“For example in ODI

cricket, to be the fast-

est to get to 2 000,

3 000, 4 000, 5 000,

6 000 and 7 000 runs

... This also shows
he’s one of a kind.”
Amla will also be
remembered as one
of cricket’s true
gentlemen.

124 Tests

181 ODIs

9 282

Test runs – best

among SA play-

ers after Jacques

Kallis (13 206)

8 113 ODI runs – best am

players after AB de Villiers(

and Kallis (11 550)

28 centuries in Tests and 27 in ODI match

149

His Test score

against New

Zealand in

April 2006

No 1 Reached the topofw

rankings in November 2010t

February 2013 also the tops

Test rankings

SA captain from 2014-2

311 His score against Engla

2012 – the only South Africa

a triple century in a singleTe

o

RG

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22 | 22 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^