The trend of South African batsmen scoring the number of runs after retirement continues as Hashim Amla has displayed high-class batting in the ongoing County Championship 2021.
In the Group 2 game between Surrey and Hampshire at Kennington Oval, London, Amla completely dominated the proceedings on Day 2 and helped Surrey post a humungous total in reply to Hampshire’s paltry 92.
The former South Africa captain smashed a scintillating double century to power Surrey to 513/3 in 132 overs. It was Amla’s seventh first-class double hundred, and he stayed unbeaten on 215 runs from 367 deliveries packed with 22 boundaries.
The Durban-lad formed a record-breaking partnership with another centurion in the match, Ollie Pope. The duo shared a dominating 257 runs stand for the third wicket. Pope hit 131 off 173 balls, including 15 boundaries before Hampshire’s teen sensation Scott Currie dismissed England’s Test batsman.
After Pope’s wicket, Amla put together another crucial partnership with Jamie Smith, who scored 66 not out from 85 balls. The pair stitched a 100-run stand as Surrey ended up building an imperious lead of 421 over Hampshire before the bad light stopped play.
Before Amla and Pope, England Test opener Rory Burns shined with the bat but missed his chance to score three figures after he under-edged a pull shot on to his stumps off Liam Dawson. The Surrey skipper made 80 runs from 149 deliveries with the help of 11 fours.
Earlier, Jordan Clark‘s sensational bowling assisted Surrey to bundle out Hampshire for a mere 92 runs. Clark picked up a six-wicket haul for just 21 in 10.3 overs, including three maidens. Kemar Roach and Rikki Clarke bagged two scalps each. Wicketkeeper-batsman Lewis McManus, with an unbeaten 31 off 44 balls, was Hampshire’s highest run-scorer in the first innings.
After the days play, Pope heaped praises on Amla, stating the 38-year-old showed remarkable consistency and played an outstanding knock.
“It was obviously a very good day; Hashim was outstanding in the consistency he showed. He didn’t really change his tempo throughout the day, and it was a joy to bat with him and also to watch it from the other end,” said Pope as quoted by BBC.
“He’s a very calming influence to bat with, and he also has a lot of wisdom to impart too. I was pretty patient with myself in how I played and also got the rewards too, so I’m very pleased with how I went. We wanted to be ruthless and bat through the day, and we stuck to that and executed it nicely. Hopefully, the weather behaves to give us time to finish the job,” he added.
