Hashim Amla      

An elegant strokeplayer blessed with the temperament to make the most of his talent, Hashim Amla is the first South African of Indian descent to reach the national squad - his grandparents migrated from Gujarat - and he shares the penchant for wristy leg-side flicks that ooze off his bat. His elevation to the South Africa side was a poorly kept secret after he reeled off four centuries in his first eight innings of the 2004-05 season, after being appointed captain of the Dolphins (formerly Natal) at the tender age of 21. His older brother by four years, Ahmed, made his first-class debut two seasons before Hashim, but there is little doubt that the younger Amla is the better player. He is also a devout Muslim whose requests to have logos promoting alcohol removed from his playing gear have been successful so far. Amla toured New Zealand with the South African Under-19 team in 2000-01, he captained South Africa at the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, and after starring for the A team, made his Test debut against India in 2004-05. He was not an instant success, with serious questions emerging about his technique as he mustered 36 runs in four innings against England later that season.

When he was handed a second chance he made it count with 149 against New Zealand at Cape Town, helping guide South Africa to a draw. He remained a consistent performer, if not as prolific as South Africa would like, with fifties against Pakistan in 2007, but saved his best for the following tour to India where he racked up 307 runs in the three Tests. It included a majestic 159 in Chennai, his second score of 150 or more, and was followed by a pugnacious 81 in the second innings, in conditions trying thanks to the weather, the pitch and the attack. In the summer of 2008, he got his name on the honours board at Lord's with a sublime century, and in the process silenced all whimpers about his pedigree for the longest version. Still, doubts remained over his ability in the shorter formats, and while Twenty20 cricket was never going to be his strong point, he developed a remarkable appetite for ODI excellence, when given an extended run in the side. He contributed crucial fifties during South Africa's heist of Australia in 2008-09, but his inability to convert them into big knocks meant the likes of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy stole the headlines. Amla righted that with a couple of big scores in the ODI series that followed, as Australia were humbled in all formats at home. A consistent run of scores followed before a strong home series against England.

His biggest year in international cricket, though, was in 2010, when he was outstanding in both Tests and ODIs, scoring over 1000 runs in both forms at 75-plus averages. It started with a magnum opus tour of India, where the hosts threw everything at him, but could not find a way past or around his monk-like patience and ability to soak pressure. In the two-Test series he scored 490 runs and dismissed just once. In ODIs he combined quick scoring with stunning consistency, scoring five centuries and four fifties in 15 innings, all the while scoring at over a run a ball. With his consistency and skills in both forms of the game, Amla is already looked upon as Jacques Kallis' successor in the role of middle-order bulwark.

And in 2012 he lived up to his billing by becoming the first South African to score a triple century by making 311 not out against England at The Oval.

A quiet man, there is no doubting Amla's immense hunger for runs. He remains a candidate to become South Africa's second non-white Test captain after Ashwell Prince, and possesses the most impressive beard in all the game.
ESPNcricinfo Staff

• Nov 28-Dec 2, 2004
  A modest beginning
  • Hashim Amla was highly rated in South African circles when he made his Test debut, but the start to his international career was distinctly modest: against India in Kolkata, he scores 24 and 2, and then adds only 36 more in his next four Test innings, at home against England. The result: no more Test cricket for the next 15 months.
    
• Apr 27-May 1, 2006
  Hitting back
  • Given another chance at Test cricket, Amla grabs it with both hands, scoring 149 against New Zealand in Cape Town, his maiden Test century.
    
• November 8-20, 2007
  New Zealand conquered, again
  • After going 23 innings without a Test century, Amla takes advantage of yet another tour by New Zealand. This time he goes one better, scoring hundreds in successive Tests, including an unbeaten 176 in Johannesburg.
    
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• March 9, 2008
  Low-key ODI debut
  • Amla's first ODI series is a low-profile one, a bilateral one in Bangladesh. In two innings, he scores 9 not out and 16.
    
• March 26-30, 2008
  First overseas century
  • Back in the country where he made his Test debut, Amla makes it count, scoring 159 - his first overseas Test hundred - and 81 in a drawn Test in Chennai.
    
• July 10-14, 2008
  On the Lord's honours board
  • In the second innings of his maiden appearance at a Lord's Test, Amla scores an unbeaten 104 which helps South Africa draw the Test after they'd been forced to follow on.
    
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• November 9, 2008
  The first ODI century
  • Opening the innings against Bangladesh gives Amla an excellent opportunity to rack up a big score, and he grabs that chance, scoring 140 out of a team total of 358, as Bangladesh are trounced by 128 runs.
    
• Dec 2008-Jan 2009
  Consistent in Australia
  • In the three-Test series in Australia, Amla notches up four scores between 47 and 59, but is unable to kick on and make a major contribution. His innings at No.3 play a vital role, though, in South Africa clinching the series 2-1.
    
• February 2010
  Stunning series in India
  • Amla continues his love affair with India with an outstanding series in 2010. In three Test innings, he notches up scores of 253 not out (Nagpur), 114 and 123 not out (Kolkata). The unbeaten 123 is an especially heroic one-man effort, but falls just short of saving the Test - the second-highest score in the innings is 23.
    
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• May 22-June 3, 2010
  ODI bounty in the West Indies
  • In the five-match ODI series, Amla scores 402 runs, including two hundreds, as South Africa blank West Indies 5-0.
    
• Oct 29-Nov 8, 2010
  Run-fest v Pakistan
  • Amla's superb ODI year continues, and this time Pakistan are at the receiving end as he scores two fifties and an unbeaten 119. South Africa edge the series, played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, 3-2. That also ends a stunning year in ODIs for Amla: in 15 innings he scores 1058 runs at an average of 75.57 and a strike rate of 104.23, with five hundreds and four fifties.
    
• November 2011
  Twin hundreds v Australia
  • In four Test innings of a low-scoring series, Amla scores two hundreds, including one in a successful fourth-innings run-chase in Cape Town. There's only one other century from either team in the series, from Graeme Smith.
    
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• January 11, 2012
  Another ODI century
  • Amla's 112 against Sri Lanka in Paarl - his ninth ODI hundred in only his 52nd innings - leads to an unexpectedly easy win. Sri Lanka, chasing 302, don't even manage half of Amla's score, folding up for 43.
    
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