Amla pleased with debut captaincy season
South Africa batsman Hashim Amla capped a successful debut season as captain of the Proteas following the two-nil series win over the West Indies on Tuesday, and has enjoyed the learning curve.
Amla, who scored a double ton in the first Test, has won four out of six matches (with two draws) in charge, and says he is becoming more familiar with the captaincy role.
Amla said after winning the third Test in Cape Town: "Certainly as captain you hope that you can learn more and more. I would say that after six matches I'm learning a lot more about the captaincy as well as Test cricket.
"I am fortunate that my tenure as captain has been a very short tenure to begin with, so it’s given me a lot of time to contemplate on it.
"Sri Lanka was the highlight for me because I don't think many people expected us to win there, we all know what a good team they are in Sri Lanka.
"In Zimbabwe we were almost expected to win and fortunately we did, and it was a little bit of the same against the West Indies."
The Proteas have capped four debutants since the beginning of the Test series in August, with all new caps showing maturity and confidence on the international stage.
Amla said: "What they (debutants) have brought to the team has been amazing. Guys like Temba (Bavuma), I look at Dane Piedt when he played in Zimbabwe, Stiaan here and Simon as well.
"They have brought a lot of energy to the team, a lot of freshness; everyone enjoyed having the debutants around. We were all a little bit nervous and excited to see how they would perform."
The Test team retained the ICC Test mace for a third consecutive year, but Amla believes the squad is far from a finished product.
He said: "To find the winning combination is still our main goal. We managed to win four Test matches out of six, but to be honest I think we still have a long way to go to find the right guys.
"The guys who have come in have done well, which is exceptional, but there will probably be some changes I'm sure."
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