Amla digs deep to lead from the front

Hashim's Army had to go to work today. As it turned out, so did he.

The 170 guys and gals who wore fake beards and occupied Block B on the North Stand for the weekend, where their hit single was a chant of "Hashim, Hashim-Hashim, Hashim-Hashim, Hashim-Hashim-Hashim," followed by a pause to allow the Barmy Army to chime "Moeen, Moeen-Moeen, Moeen-Moeen, Moeen-Moeen-Moeen," in a vocal battle of the beards, were not around to sing their captain's redemption song. However, as Bob Marley himself would have told them, "none but ourselves can free our minds."

Maybe Amla needed them not to be there, so he could mentally unshackle himself from the chains of the last two months. With every run, he unlocked a link and claimed a little more control to reverse the reasoning of the last few weeks - namely, that he had lost much of it.

On the India tour, Amla made strange decisions about when and how to use his spinners, particularly Imran Tahir. In the Boxing Day Test, he did not seem to be making any decisions at all, neither on the field nor off it. When asked about team selection, Amla said it was not up to him which XI took the field but that he depended on the selectors and committed himself to work with what they gave him. When asked about the choice of consultant - South Africa roped in Amla's predecessor, Graeme Smith, who was vocal in his criticism on commentary - Amla was uncertain about the nature of Smith's involvement and said he understood Smith would be around for the rest of the series. Smith later said he had not made a decision about the extent of his involvement.

The only thing Amla was sure of ahead of the Newlands Test was that he wanted to continue as captain, even though there was a chorus calling for him to quit. Given his prior reluctance to lead, many thought he'd be better suited to just batting, but Amla defied them. He said he "enjoyed" the job even though he was desperate for runs. He was certain if he could contribute a little more, he could lead a little better. For someone of his quiet character, that makes sense.

Unlike Smith, Amla cannot lead by being bullish, he must lead with the bat. Finally, that is what he has done.

After South Africa lost an opener early (again), they needed a stoic, solid stand but they did not need the same kind of stonewalling that has seen them save Tests and attempt to save Tests in the past. The second day of the match is not the time to become so defensive that if the opposition attacks, defeat is inevitable. There had to be a balance between scoring runs and refusing them, and between saving face and saving the gam,e and Amla has so far managed to do all of that.

Unlike Ben Stokes' highlights-reel double-hundred, Amla's innings was not one for the ages. Apart from the late flick to bring up fifty on the second afternoon, a wonderfully timed shot through square leg on the third morning, and a classy cover drive for his 7000th Test run, there weren't many other memorable shots. There didn't need to be.

This was innings of attrition. It was eyecatching in its stubborness and for its fight. Amla and Dean Elgar steadied South Africa, then Amla and AB de Villiers saw them to some kind of safety, and then Amla saw Faf du Plessis back into some kind of form. In between that, there was the rare sight of Amla struggling. With himself.

On a surface that offered very little assistance for the quicks and no turn at all, all the batsmen battled themselves more than the opposition attack. For Amla, the fight was in the footwork. He had to get his feet moving again like he had before, so that he would not offer loose drives as he had in the second innings in Durban. He had to get himself moving forward but not as hastily as he has been doing in the recent past, so that he could still drive but without breaking the speed limit. He had to choose how much to defend - and there was a lot of defending to do - and when to keep things moving, so that he did not end up leaving the rest with a mountain to climb and no-one to guide them. He did not get it right all of the time.

The fluency that has become so synonymous with Amla was replaced with a stop-start kind of stiltedness. He scored runs in equal measure on the off- and on-side but not many down the ground and he never really looked as though he'd got going. Even after he'd reached each of his three landmarks, he seemed to be starting over every ball and the effects were exhausting on everyone including himself.

He was stuck on 69 for 32 balls, for example, and his concentration was tested throughout. It first seemed to wane when, on 76, he offered a catch to James Anderson at slip off Joe Root. In a cruel reversal of what had happened on the first day, when Root dropped de Villiers off Anderson, Anderson put it down. Amla made another mistake when he was on 120 and flashed at a Steven Finn delivery but Nick Compton put him down at backward point.

At the end of the day, Amla's energy flagged, and he called on the medical staff to assist with cramp. There would be nothing unusual about this observation had anyone else been batting - it was well over 30 degrees and the heat was sapping - but Amla has a reputation for not even sweating. He did not change his gloves once during his record 311 against England in 2012.

That was an innings of authority. This was an innings of intent. If Hashim's army had half an eye on things from their workplaces they would have been satisfied with their soldier today. He hasn't won yet but he has put up one hell of a fight.