Park cricketer
Club Legend
- Nov 29, 2018
- 1,771
- 2,367
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Probably a bit harsh. He still averages 42 as an opener in run chases - that’s pretty bloody good.
He is undoubtedly someone who thrives more under the freedom of batting first though.
Not harsh at all.
Check his world cup record. Has largely failed to deliver whenever he plays in the world cup. Has zero tons against non minnows, cashed in with 2 tons against Ireland and Netherlands. Averages just around 30 when you remove the minnows.
He has never shown any sign that he can handle the pressure of a world cup match throughout his career and even in bilaterals, I've seen him crack under pressure quite a few times especially during chasing. Generally most South African players play well in the world cup but choke inexplicably when the knockout matches come. Amla is a special case in that he fails even in the group matches of a world cup. I know he has a great average in ODI cricket but I'll take a lot of guys who averaged less than him but shown more mettle in world cups in the past before choosing him in my XI.
His world cup record is an anomaly and one that's been widely discussed in many cricket forums. We waited to see if he did anything different in the '15 WC but he failed then too. If he doesn't do anything to change opinions this world cup, his ODI career will be known for having amassed a lot of fastest to 6k, 7k and 8k records but all of them being soft runs, probably opposite to his test career where he has scored plenty of tough runs. I hope succeeds this WC though because he's quite a likeable character.