Hashim Amla: Despite the outrage, sympathy needed too

Amid all the outrage over the Australian ball-tampering scandal, the customarily calm Hashim Amla has expressed sympathy for the trio of players handed suspensions by Cricket Australia on Wednesday.

Visiting captain Steve Smith and his deputy, David Warner, were both handed one-year bans while Cameron Bancroft was sidelined for nine months.

“We know how tough cricket is. It’s an international sport and so much works goes on behind the scenes,” said the Proteas’ bearded star ahead of Friday’s fourth Test at the Wanderers.

“When something like this happens, you definitely feel sympathy for the person it happened to. The three Australians made a mistake and have had to pay the price for it. We all make mistakes, we’re not perfect.”

While the 33-year-old admits the Proteas have been able to gather their thoughts and digest a crazy few days of off-field drama, he also reiterated that the hosts need to absorb the lessons from the saga too … even if they weren’t remotely involved.

“It obviously gives every cricket team in the world a bit of a reality check,” said Amla.

“It allows you to ask yourself again: ‘What type of cricket do you want to play?’. It’s probably also given the International Cricket Council a lot more headaches in terms of codes of conducts and to help us determine where is “the line”. I’ve always believed we’ve played our cricket the best we can with a few mistakes here and there. But you learn and move on.”

The punishment meted out to the Aussies have also placed renewed spotlight on their overall team culture and conduct.

Have they not respected the Proteas as much as they should’ve?

“That’s a tough question to answer. When you play for your country, it’s an intense environment. I don’t say much on the field, it’s about respect from my side,” said Amla.

“For me it is a skills-based sport and I try and support my teammates as much as possible. What’s happening in the Aussie camp, I don’t want to comment too much.

“You appreciate that it was a good battle. But it’s not war. It’s ridiculous to think that playing cricket is like war.”

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