When Hashim Amla scored the 59th run of his 100-run knock in Durban, he overtook Sir Vivian Richards as the fastest man to 4000 ODI runs. Richards got there in 88 innings while the second ODI against India was Amla’s 81st. However, instead of celebrating the feat, Amla was embarrassed to have overtaken the great batsman.
"Feel a bit embarrassed to have it because Sir Viv Richards is certainly the master blaster, the original great batsman," Amla said. "He is more deserving than anyone else. I have met him on a few occasions, so it makes even more embarrassing. It would be befitting if he was ahead.
"Whatever the case be, there is a lot of one-day cricket these days and no doubt someone else will come along and beat that and the game will just carry on."
Kingsmead was Amla’s home ground when he played for the Dolphins before moving to Cape Town. However, the batsman was glad to score his first century in Durban. "Very happy. Certainly it has been one of my leaner scoring grounds, so I am glad to get some runs. My partnership with Quinny (Quinton de Kock) was very vital. He has been batting beautifully. We have kind of clicked a bit. We have kind of got something going,” Amla said of his back-to-back 150-plus stand with the 20-year opener.
"He has come a long way from the time we were in Sri Lanka, and there were a few doubts about his ability opening the batting against spin," Amla said. "But against Pakistan and against India here he has shown he has got all attributes to be a great player. He scores quickly, he has got great thinking when he is batting. I was telling someone else that I have been blown away by the fact that he has got a great calmness when he bats. So it has been a good experience."
Amla also praised de Kock for his improvement on the mental side of batting. "The way he is approaching his game now [shows it]," Amla said. "We chat between overs, certainly that's the point that comes through. He has got a great idea on how to score runs. He is an attacking batsman. That's the best thing you can have as an opener in a one-day team.
Happy to talk about his partner, Amla retorted to his embarrassed look the moment it was suggested that he is currently the best batsman in the world.
"I am not the best Test batsman in the world," he said. "Everybody goes through certain phases in their career when they score a lot of runs, and then they go through leaner phases. Fortunately I have managed to get some runs. But I am not going to look too far ahead.
"You never know what is around the corner. Guys like Quinton coming along. He is putting his hand up to be probably one of the best. It's early to talk and put too much pressure on the youngster, but I think Quinny has a bright future as an opening batsman. For me I am just going to block up one end while he smashes it all over,” said Amla.
