He prefers to do his talking with the bat but Hashim Amla found out the hard way on Sunday that being the strong silent type can have its disadvantages.
The prolific Amla put South Africa in the box seat in the first Test with his magnificent knock of 104.
It also ensured Amla overtook Australian captain Michael Clarke (782) to become Test cricket’s highest run-scorer of 2012 with 791.
Yet if Amla had ditched his softly spoken approach and asked to review Peter Siddle’s lbw shout that prompted umpire Asad Rauf to raise his finger, he would have continued his six-hour knock.
Ball tracking technology showed the delivery that struck him on the front pad would have bounced over the stumps.
But nice guy Amla politely asked Jacques Kallis at the non-striker’s end whether he should ask for a referral – a possibility his veteran teammate surprisingly dismissed.
Teammates have told how they go to 29-year-old Amla’s room while on tour just to sit down and soak up his super relaxed vibe.
There’s a fair chance they also seek batting tips while they’re there these days.
The bearded South African has become every bowler’s most prized wicket thanks to a breakout year and he only enhanced that reputation in Brisbane with his third ton in four Tests and 17th overall.
His run includes an unbeaten 311 in the first Test against England at The Oval in July, during which he became the first South African batsman to break the 300-run barrier.
In Brisbane, Amla became the seventh South African to reach 5000 runs, notching it up in his 63rd Test – quicker than Australian great Ricky Ponting.
He now averages 50 for the first time in his career, becoming the third current South African player to boast the stat along with Graeme Smith and Kallis.
All of which makes nonsense of the supposedly leaked dossier on South Africa’s players which suggested Australia to launch a “psychological war” on the shy Amla.
Judging by his 11th century stand with Kallis, making them the South African pair with the highest Test partnership aggregate (3636 runs), Australian bowlers may be the ones visiting the shrink’s couch by series end.
