Amla backs Esterhuizen for international glory

MI Cape Town batting coach Hashim Amla believes Connor Esterhuizen has all the attributes of a successful modern-day player.

Esterhuizen’s stock has risen astronomically over the past month. The Betway SA20 Rising Star was recently named Player of the Series in New Zealand after excelling on his maiden Proteas tour.

The Pretoria Capitals batter’s sparkling performances in Aotearoa then saw him join the growing list of young South Africans in the IPL, with the Gujarat Titans signing the 24-year-old as a replacement for England’s Tom Banton (a former teammate at MI Cape Town).

Amla has worked extensively with Esterhuizen, both at MI Cape Town for two seasons before his move to the Capitals and domestically with the Lions.

“When we met at the Lions, he was always one of those youngsters who was extremely eager to learn and to try new things. I think that's so important for anybody who wants to try and play all formats successfully,” Amla exclusively told Betway SA20.

“There's a type of mental elasticity you need to have to be able to go from format to format. That also has to come into your training and your ability to work with different plans. The switch between different plans has to happen quickly. From the time we met, he always had that eagerness to learn and to explore these things.”

The Proteas legend, who scored 18 672 runs across all international formats, feels Esterhuizen’s ability to assimilate information sets him apart from the rest.

“He's one of those players who, when you watch them early on, you think, 'Oh, he's got something'. His growth has been very quick. That is something very nice to see, because when someone is hungry to learn - like all youngsters - they will receive a lot of information. I suppose one of the skills you have to learn is how to filter the information you receive,” Amla said.

“Once you experiment with it, you have to quickly understand what works within your game and what doesn't. His call-up to the national team was not a surprise because he did really well in four-day cricket and he had a good T20 competition with the Lions as well.

“It was no surprise; he's one of those players who has been consistently scoring runs, so he was bound to get a call-up. I think he embodies the modern-day player. He has the attributes of the modern-day player. He's got a good technique but he can hit a long ball.”

Having spent time at English County Championship side Surrey during the latter stages of his playing career, Amla saw the emergence of England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith at The Oval and felt Esterhuizen could follow the same path in international cricket.

“If you think of someone like Jamie Smith, for example, from England, he's also a very young player. When I started at Surrey, he was a youngster coming through and he had similar attributes,” Amla said.

“He had a good technique, was very strong and could hit boundaries. That type of player now, you see them in Test cricket, fulfilling that role in the middle order where they can take the game away. Connor is, in a way, similar to that.

“He has a good enough technique - or quite a good technique - to handle a moving ball but once an opportunity comes for them to score, it's hard to stop them.”

There has been plenty of debate over where Esterhuizen is best suited in the batting lineup. During his time at MI Cape Town, the youngster was utilized as a ‘finisher’ but upon moving to the Capitals, he was promoted up the order.

By his own admission, Esterhuizen has no preference at this juncture of his career and Amla believes this fluidity adds to his marketability.

“He's one of those players who we felt could play anywhere from one to six. Even with the Lions, from one to six, he can fit anywhere,” Amla said.

“That's not an easy thing to do for any cricketer. You need to have a decent technique to be able to handle a new ball if you're going to be up the order. You've also got to have a strong middle game, which means you're going to run hard between wickets, hit gaps and very importantly for T20 cricketers, hit boundaries - fours and sixes.

“He's got the strength for that. To find the best position for him, I would say looking at a No 4 position might be a buffer between the top order and the middle order.”