Amla bridges the gap

Four-year-old Zahra doesn't understand too much about cricket. That's hardly surprising, considering that few at her age would be able to tell the difference between a batsman and a bowler. Zahra may not know any bowlers but there's one batsman that she knows very well, and that's her uncle Hashim Amla.

If fact, Zahra may have been the first member of the family to see Hashim's double-hundred in the first Test against India on television.

"His innings was played over two days, so most of the family were in different places while it was happening," explains Hashim's brother Ahmed, who plays cricket for the Dolphins franchise. "My dad [a doctor] was probably at work when the 250 came up, my sister [who is older than Hashim but younger than Ahmed] was also working." But Zahra, who always "gets excited when she sees him [Hashim] on television," may just have been watching, while the rest of the family followed the innings on the internet or radio.

"We are all very excited. A score of 250 or more in Test cricket is special," says Ahmed. He downplayed the importance of Hashim's massive score being made in India - the land of the Amla family's ancestors. "I guess it is significant that his achievement came in India because of we are of Indian descent, maybe not so much for us but certainly for some Indian people who feel closely tied with their heritage."

The people Ahmed is referring to are those predisposed to feeling favourably towards Amla for scoring his first double- century, but hope South Africa lose the Test match all the same. These people support South Africa's opposition in every match the country plays. They are not traitors, or expats who find themselves living on the southern tip of Africa for reasons they'd rather forget. They're not malicious, nor do they have the make-up of terrorists. They're ordinary South Africans. But they're more than likely South Africans of Indian descent and believe that Asian players are being marginalised in the county's cricketing set-up.

"There is a lot of hurt from the past, when Indians, just like other people of colour, were not allowed to play for the team that the South African government regarded as the national team," says Aslam Khota, a cricket commentator of Indian descent. "People who played, even socially, during that time, don't easily identify with what they see as the national team, even today."

It's not difficult to see why. In the 19 years since readmission, the South African team has had five Asian players, four of whom, Shafiek Abrahams, Gulam Bodi, Yusuf Abdulla and Imraan Khan have played seven internationals between them, and just one Test match. The other is Hashim, who has made the No. 3 spot his own, and after his magnificent unbeaten 253 against India, has the power to change many of these perceptions.

Abrahams was the first cricketer of Indian descent to play for South Africa and made his debut against New Zealand in November 2000. That has been his only match. At the time there were few Asian players making regular appearances for provincial sides.

"Even though the Indian community at the time may have felt that there should have been more players of Indian descent in the national side, there weren't that many to choose from, so they weren't being hard done by. Now there are a lot more players of Indian descent in the franchises and at least three or four who have the skill to play at national level. The community has a lot more to shout about," Abrahams says.

He says that the Indian community may be growing frustrated because players like Yusuf Abdulla and Imraan Khan are not successfully coming through the system. Abrahams believes these players have only themselves to blame and should stop using the system as a crutch. "Abdulla needs to get fitter and Khan must replicate his form in the 2008-09 season [where he ended as top-scorer of the SuperSport Series], before he can get another chance".

Abrahams also believes both these players should use Hashim's work ethic as a blueprint. "His discipline should make him a role model. He is as fit as he can be. He conducts himself in an impeccable manner, and he manages to balance out his desire to play cricket with his religious obligations. They can definitely learn from him."

The seamless way that Hashim has fit into the national team shows that players of Indian descent will not be discriminated against once they are selected in the squad. Abrahams and Ahmed both think that South African cricket is open-minded enough to accept someone who comes from another culture and places value on a different tradition. "The team always respected my culture," Abrahams says, "but I also learned to fit in with the team culture. It was never a case of them snubbing me because I was different."

Ahmed says his brother's experience has been much the same. Despite having the game's finest beard, a wife who watches him from the stands clad in full hijab, no alcohol sponsor's branding on his shirt, praying five times a day and fasting during Ramadan, Hashim is still a part of the South African team. Khota, who has known Hashim "since before he had a beard", says the Durbanite's dedication, focus and conscientious attitude have helped make him an integral part of the team.

Hashim also has a passion for his country that is second to none. Khota said Amla "always talked about his blood being green" as an indicator of his patriotism.

In an interview late last year Hashim said, "We live in such a cosmopolitan society that I think we have reached the stage where no matter what colour your skin, if you play well, you will earn the respect of your peers."

He has also downplayed the influence he has over aspiring cricketers, particularly of Indian descent. For Yasheen Ebrahim, a former Dolphins coach, the guide Amla presents to those hopefuls is invaluable. Ebrahim has seen many players not be able to break through to a higher level because of the influence of their culture - in terms of practices and diet. "It may sound like a generalisation, but the Indian diet is not great for sportsmen. For 18 years, young players will eat their mother's curries and rotis, and to break that habit is difficult," says Ebrahim, who adds that Hashim monitors his eating closely.

Both Abrahams and Ebrahim recognise the importance of school sport for young players. Abrahams says it's difficult for aspiring professionals to get noticed if they don't play for a good school. Ebrahim adds, "Muslim youngsters may find it even more difficult because they go from school straight to madressa [religious school] and can't always participate in school sports."

The Amlas, however, found a way. "We were lucky that our dad could afford to send us to good cricketing schools," says Ahmed. Hashim went to Durban High School, a renowned cricketing school, and after matriculating captained the South African U-19 team at the 2002 World Cup. He went on to captain the Dolphins franchise. Four consecutive centuries at domestic level gave him his first bite at the international cherry, and although he had a mediocre start to international cricket, after his 149 against New Zealand in Cape Town in the 2006-07 season, his stature has grown longer than his beard.

Now he has come to within 25 runs of breaking the South African record for the highest score in Test cricket. In bittersweet fashion, his double-century came against the country many of the apartheid-wounded are hoping will beat South Africa in the series. The message to them is clear: "Wishing Hashim well and not bothering with the rest of the team," as Khota describes these conflicting attitudes, are ideas that can no longer co-exist. While Khota says the "younger generation are definitely behind the South African team and their loyalties are not in question," he hopes Amla's innings will inspire the older Indians "to hope from now on that the man who scored 253 in the Nagpur Test ends up on the winning side."