Centurion: South Africa opener Hashim Amla says his team are not used to the hammering they have received in the ongoing ODI series against India and the emphatic nature of defeat has taken the Proteas back to the drawing board ahead of the World Cup next year.
“I don’t think in one-day cricket we’ve been in this position. Maybe in 2008 in England, when we didn’t have a good one-day series but there are always positives and learning to take from it,” Amla said.
“We’ve got a few younger guys in the team who will think, ‘Phew, one-day cricket is tough.’ But thankfully it will only get easier for them because we haven’t played our best cricket. We’ve played decent cricket in patches but sub-par cricket from what we’re used to.”
Amla would like to believe that the loss against India is a blessing in disguise ahead of the World Cup .
“When it comes to other series or World Cups we’ll be better prepared. Also we have won so many series in the past back to back, we were very fortunate and none of us took it for granted. But to lose a series like this gets your feet back on the ground.
“As a one-day unit you are always searching for certain things here or there, and I’m sure this has given us that impetus. When you’re playing well and someone has a brilliant innings, cracks can be covered.
“But when you lose in this manner, whatever adjustments need to be made, you focus on it more. For me that’s a very positive thing,” said the opener.
