Amla was glad to get some practice before the start of the Test series

South Africa batsman Hashim Amla has revealed that the team’s warm up match against Australia A was ideal since it allowed him to get some much-needed practice before the start of the Test series.

Despite South Africa’s request to move the warm up match to Brisbane being denied, Amla still looked on the bright side and stated that it was good to finally play as a team again since beating England 2-0 over the summer.

“It’s good preparation anyway. Time in the middle no matter what the wicket is invaluable, I’m sure if you had to ask Graeme [Smith], Alviro [Petersen] or myself whether we would prefer a net session or a hit in the middle in a practice match, we’d take the match,” Amla said.

Amla noted that the practice match had also benefited the bowlers since it would show them what the conditions are to be like during the first Test.

“All our seamers got a bowl and Imran [Tahir] managed to have a really long spell, which is what we wanted,” Amla added.

Amla also mentioned that the part-time bowlers in the squad had a good time.

“It also gave the part-timers like JP [Duminy], Faf [du Plessis] and myself a few overs,” Amla said.

When asked about the last time Test captain Graeme Smith allowed him to have a bowl, Amla said: “I can’t remember, I have been in the captain’s ear a few times about giving me a go and I finally got a chance to show my skills.”

However, even though Amla was not able to pick up a wicket during the warm up match, he still boasts the one victim he claimed in first-class cricket.

“It was Parthiv Patel. I got him during a South Africa A game when I was still bowling seamers,” Amla explained.

Amla stated that spending time at the crease was the one key thing South Africa should have taken away from the practice match.

“It’s not really about the stats or the results in a game like this. In these warm-up games, we wanted to bat for a period of time. We also needed time on our legs, because some of us have been off for three weeks,” Amla added.

During their practice match, South spent four and a half sessions in the field and Amla believes this was a blessing in disguise since it prepared the team of what to expect throughout the Test series.

“During Tests, you may field for a whole day and you need to get used to that fatigue you may get in the legs,” Amla said.

But, Amla was also quick to reassure fans that the Proteas would be much more intense during the three-Test series.

“In a Test match, where you are playing for your country, you still get those butterflies. In these matches, there are patches where you try to up the pace …” Amla added.