Sport

Hashim Amla named captain of South Africa’s Test team

Batsman is first non-white cricketer to hold the post permanently

Star batsman Hashim Amla is South Africa’s new Test captain after it was confirmed he will succeed Graeme Smith.
Star batsman Hashim Amla is South Africa’s new Test captain after it was confirmed he will succeed Graeme Smith.
Tue Jun 03 2014 - 17:27

Hashim Amla was named the new captain of South Africa’s Test team on Tuesday, the first non-white cricketer to hold the post permanently.

Cricket South Africa had identified Amla, one-day skipper AB de Villiers and Twenty20 leader Faf du Plessis as the potential successors to Graeme Smith, who retired from the international game in March.

Having initially ruled himself out, Amla had a change of heart in recent weeks and will now lead the side to Sri Lanka for a two-match series next month.

He becomes the fifth captain of the Proteas since South Africa were readmitted to international cricket in 1992, following Kepler Wessels (1992), Hansie Cronje (1994), Shaun Pollock (2000) and Smith (2003). Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince have also done the job in a stand-in capacity.