SK Elite: Hashim Amla's heroics at the Oval against England
If you look up greatness in a dictionary, you will read Michael Jordan!
Yes, Jordan the legend had surpassed everything which a mortal player could even dream of, he was zooming ahead on the same lane others were content in crawling, for them only moving on was enough.
This audacity to leap up from a crawl, take guard again and then sprint on is greatness and Jordan was synonymous to them all.
The world had seen him and the world waited for another freak, and then witnessed Hashim Amla on July 21 and 22 in 2012.
The man who remains in his bubble, never speaks more than needed and always sports an affable smile was about to saunter into the Oval, London and send the English team on a merry leather hunt.
On a scale of Viv Richards's dominance to Geoffrey Boycott's doggedness, Amla acquired the grey spot, all the while in his bubble, with his flowing mane sticking out of the helmet and his willow being wielded with surgical precision.
Greatness is a word tossed about too loosely these days. Jordan was great for a reason and under the blazing sun in London, Hashim Amla was great, his innings was great, his composure was great, his movements were great, the effortless grace was great!
South Africa, led by Graeme Smith, locked horns with the then number one side in the world, hosts England at the Oval.
Bear in mind, the English attack had humiliated India the previous year and under Andrew Strauss, the seam bowlers were baying for some more blood.
There is a certain edge to England-South Africa encounters, it might appear feeble when compared to the Ashes, but ask the players, for them the intensity is still the same, for bereft of any hype, they know that any slip-up and their careers could be on the line.
Andrew Strauss won the toss and England batted first. The Oval surface is a belter to bat on, it starts to deteriorate as the days go on, hence the decision made sense.
Alastair Cook notched up his century and although the rest of the batting faltered around him, the hosts managed to get to a respectable 385 in their first innings.
With the kind of attack they boasted of, this total looked secure. Well, it would have been secure, had Hashim Amla not decided to stamp his authority all over London and all across the cricketing world.
James Anderson took the new ball and charged in amidst the raucous crowd and bowled that perfect cherry to Alviro Petersen, it pitched and seamed, Peterson was drawn forward, almost sucked into a sense of false security!
The ball thudded into his back pad and he was stone dead in front of the stumps. England erupted, the crowds lost their voice and almost lost in the cauldron Hashim Amla waded in.
Amla’s assault is about to begin!
No cameras panned towards his expression when he walked out, he never needed one, but his steely resolve could be gauged through the helmet. He took guard and never got out, never in the entire match!
The famed bowling attack was flattened, rubbed into the turf, the red ball lost its shape, colour, shine and every characteristic. Amla lost nothing, he only grew in stature his hunger grew, all the while his reputation galloped forward.
529 balls later, almost 2 days later and after hitting 35 boundaries, Amla had to be coerced into leaving the batting crease by his captain Graeme Smith.
He is a genial man, is Hashim, he sauntered off the ground, looking fresh as a daisy, shaking hands with his opponents, with that 'great' smile. The cameras now never left him, he never bothered. His bat had pasted England, his expression was rubbing it all in!
"Aah, he is not a good Test batsman, his bat comes down at an angle to meet the ball, a flawed technique and he will be exposed at the International level."
Remember this mutterings when Amla started his career, failed, went back, worked hard and then came back. He smiled when he was doubted, he was smiling when the world adored him!
This innings he faced James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, and Graeme Swann. He faced seam, swing, spin and hostile bouncers. He ducked, drove, swept, cut and pierced England.
He got to a triple century, no one in South Africa had managed this score and when he removed his helmet to accept the salutations of the crowd, he did not fist pump in ecstasy, did not hurl foul words at anyone, did not point anywhere, just a simple lift of the bat with lofted arms!
Amidst the never ending hustle of life, he reminded everyone that calmness has its own virtue, and greatness is earned.
Anderson pitched the ball up to bat, he was waiting for the ball to swing and hoop around the outside edge, kiss the bat and fly to the slips.
He kept waiting for 2 days!
Broad changed the speed, the 'enforcer' banged the ball in, tried to hustle Amla, he kept doing it for 2 days, red-faced, he had to give up.
Swann flighted the ball, got it to drift, turn and bounce. Amla was at the other end, on the front foot, and then on the backfoot, cutting, driving and leaving. Swann lost his grip and even his dry humour by the end of Day 4.
Amla is a devout Muslim, he does not sport the logo of the liquor sponsor on the jersey because of his religion and yet he is one of the most affable characters in the dressing room. This is greatness, he has championed the cause of his community and has never stopped anyone from going about their own business.
He has faced taunts because of his look, he has been looked at with suspicion for reasons known to all, but Hashim has just smiled it all off.
He plays cricket because he loves the sport and when he was done with the English attack in London, the game loved him back.
Oh, and if it deserved any mention, South Africa smashed the number 1 side by an innings and 12 runs.
Every time Hashim Mohammad Amla bats, one cannot help but recite this:
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”