THERE is no better way to quantify Hashim Amla’s value to the Proteas’ Castle Test batting line-up than to compare it with the new freedom it has given the squad’s senior player, Jacques Kallis, to express himself to the full extent of his awesome talent.

Kallis has often been criticised in the past for all the wrong reasons but the basic truth is that he has had to rein himself in to accommodate the best interests of the team.

There was a time when the Proteas threatened to collapse like a pack of cards if Kallis lost his wicket cheaply. This applied even more so if the captain, Graeme Smith, had also been dismissed.

That is no longer the case. Kallis has found a like-minded soul in Amla who is filling the No. 3 position with the same distinction that the former brought to it in the first half of his career. It is also the reason why they bat so well together. They understand one another’s game perfectly. They also have much the same mental strengths to back up their often under-stated talents.

Their ability to shut out distractions of any kind enables them to concentrate for long periods and they bring an aura of serenity that stretches all the way back to their colleagues in the dressing room when they occupy the crease.

It is no surprise that Amla has become just as important a member of the 50 overs squad as he is of the Test squad because he has brought a timely reminder that the ability of at least one of the batsmen to occupy the crease right through the innings remains a cardinal virtue of the ODI game.

This is particularly important for the current Proteas’ Standard Bank squad that does not possess the lower batting order strength of the late 1990s when Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener batted at Nos. 7 and 8 with Mark Boucher as low as No. 9 and often Nicky Boje at No. 10.

The impact that Amla and Kallis have had on one another’s career has been remarkable. It may be difficult to fathom now but there was a time back in 2007 when Amla was still struggling to establish himself as a permanent member of the South African side. No. 3 isn’t the easiest position to settle into the most demanding form of the game. Both Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, for example, started their careers at No. 6 before making the natural progression towards a higher position.

Kallis also had the difficult experience of making his No. 3 debut against the full might of Australia and lesser men would have cracked permanently. But Kallis worked his way through it and scored a century in only his fifth match in this position against the world’s acknowledged champion team – and he did it in the intimidating cauldron of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Amla came out of successive series against Sri Lanka (away) and India and Pakistan (both at home) with modest averages but it was in the away series in Pakistan that followed in October, 2007, that he first put down his marker.

His innings of 71 at Karachi may not have seemed all that significant on its own but it was part of a partnership of 170 for the third wicket with Kallis – and that was significant. It became even more significant when the pair followed with partnerships of 330 and 220 in the home series that followed against New Zealand. This included what was then his highest Test score of 176 not out.

Two even more significant events followed in early 2008. In the first place he was given his first outing in the Proteas’ ODI squad for the tour of Bangladesh and again the significance was probably not appreciated at the time but it certainly was a year later when his unbeaten 80 at Adelaide followed by a 97 at Perth were pivotal to the Proteas beating Australia by a thumping 4-1 margin ‘down under’.

Equally significant in early 2008 was the Test tour to India where he played innings of 159 and 81 in the first Test at Chennai. It was the first time he had made a Test century against a country other than New Zealand and also his first century on the sub-continent which is always a major landmark for any Test batsman.

Since then Amla’s career has continued in impressive upward mode, culminating in his reaching the No. 2 batting ranking on the ICC Test ratings, and, if he continues the form he showed in India (490 runs in three innings, two of which were not out), then the No. 1 spot will be his for the taking.

His Indian campaign included the double highlights of a career best 253 not out (the sixth highest score by a South African in Test cricket) as well as becoming the fifth South African (joining the likes of Gary Kirsten and Kallis in modern times) to score a century in both innings of a Test match.

Not surprisingly he travels to the West Indies later this year as the leading Test runs scorer in the current calendar year (674 runs at the incredible average of 168.50). He is no fewer than 197 runs ahead of Tendulkar who, like Amla, has also scored three Test centuries so far this year.

When you talk about Kallis (statistically the greatest all-rounder of all time) and Amla, there is another common characteristic that always crops up. They are both extraordinarily reticent in talking about their own achievements, even to the point of embarrassment. Indeed, if you looked for one word to describe Amla, it would be ‘humble’.

He is a total nightmare for most journalists looking for the controversial or sensational angle or the big headline. His softly spoken tones during interviews have caused even the iciest of tabloid hacks to melt away.

He must certainly be an administrator’s dream candidate for the role of team leader and his name is certainly discussed in informed circles and with good reason when speculation starts about a future captain of South Africa. Probably the only thing that has stopped him from getting vice-captain status is the fact that he has not tied down a regular international spot in all three formats of the game.

He has already shown – as Kallis and Smith have already done – that leadership responsibility does not affect his game. His first double century (249 for the Nashua Dolphins against the Chevrolet Diamond Eagles) was compiled when he was a very young captain of the KwaZulu-Natal franchise.

There are many people who have paid tribute to Hashim for his contribution not just to South African cricket but as a role model to the game as a whole, not least of all his own team mates.

But words carry the biggest weight when they come from an independent source.

The following is an extract from a letter he received from the Honourable Minister of Sport and Recreation, the Reverend Dr. M.A. Stofile.

“I am sure many South Africans have said to you how proud we are of your batting

prowess. Your last stint in India was a perfect cherry on a splendid cake. Well

done!

“Those of us who have been following your cricket are very impressed with the way

you have dealt with challenges on or off the field. Your calm ways and ability to

keep a cool head when all lose theirs’ is a rare gift. Your performance is not

obtrusive or selfish. Your resolve to offer your best no matter what makes you a

proud hero of our people and a paragon of sportsmanship. You do us very proud…”

So say all of us!