Mark Smit
11 November 2008
Johannesburg — THE rise and rise of Dolphins batsman Hashim Amla could not have come at a worse time for Herschelle Gibbs.
As Gibbs struggles with personal problems and poor form, the bearded Dolphin has grown in stature this season, and threatens to close out Gibbs altogether.
The commonly voiced opinion at Willowmoore Park on Sunday, where SA played Bangladesh, was that Amla looked every bit the solution to the one-day opening partnership woes experienced by SA since the decline of Gibbs.
So, is the writing on the wall for one of the most gifted cricketers the country has seen? Many think so, although not many would dare say it.
The fact is, in his last 10 Test innings Gibbs has made 165 runs. At an average of 16,5, his claims for re-selection are hardly convincing with Neil McKenzie having struck up a successful partnership with Graeme Smith.
Now comes Amla, one of the very few players who came away from the England one-day disasters with some kudos, making 83 runs in three innings at an average of 41,50.
Contrast that to yet another disciplinary indiscretion by Gibbs, a life that looks to all intents and purposes as if it is falling apart, and it is clear the gifted former South African College Schools prodigy needs a miracle if his international career is to be reborn.
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