BIRMINGHAM: Hashim Amla hailed South Africa’s rising stars after a team missing injured strike bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel returned to winning ways at the Champions Trophy.
Man-of-the-match Amla laid the foundation for a 67-run victory over Pakistan in a day/night clash at Edgbaston on Monday.
The opener’s typically stylish 81 off 97 balls was the centrepiece of South Africa’s 234 for nine made after skipper AB de Villiers won the toss.
South Africa arrived at this tournament without injured Test captain and opening batsman Graeme Smith while veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis was omitted for personal reasons.
“Not having Dale (Steyn) and Morne (Morkel) in the team, any bowling attack will miss them,” said Amla. “And obviously Jacques and Graeme are not here and their experience is missed.
“But it’s water under the bridge for us. We have new guys in the team, new energy, and fortunately a victory like this will boost the confidence of everybody.
“The environment in the team is really conducive for them coming in and expressing themselves. So we pride ourselves on that, and I’m really happy that they did well.” REUTERS
