“He bases his game around a great defence and he finds ways to be successful across all three formats”

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Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has admitted that he it was always a nightmare for him when veteran South Africa batsman Hashim Amla strode out to the crease.

Clarke, who is one of the best captains Australia produced, admitted that setting a field placement to keep Amla under pressure was no easy feat as the Durban native, who will play in his 100th Test match in the third Test against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg on Thursday, had the ability to get runs at will.

“I always hated having to captain against him because he’s so hard to set field to,” Clarke said. “He bases his game around a great defence and he finds ways to be successful across all three formats.

“The game of cricket is hard so he goes through some tough times but it shows his character to be able to sustain that, get through that and turn things around.”

Amla, who is the only South African player to score a triple century in Test cricket, has been in disappointing form with the bat as of late as he has failed to make a fifty in his last 10 innings.

But, Clarke revealed that statistics have never meant much to him and pointed out the immense impact Amla has had on cricket in South Africa.

“I’m not a big one for statistics. I never really cared much about statistics when I played. It was more the way you played and the way you helped your team have success,” he said. “Hash has certainly done that for South Africa over a long period of time. But if you look at his statistics, it shows what a great player he is.

“More importantly, he’s a lovely man. On behalf of all of Australia, I’d like to congratulate him on playing 100 Test matches.”