More than half a century ago, Cliff Gladwin, of Glamorgan, uttered the famous words: ”Cometh the hour, cometh the man” at Kingsmead after England had secured a last-ball Test triumph over South Africa with Gladwin edging the winning run.
Now batsman Hashim Amla could echo those words as he became the man of the hour on Sunday in piloting the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins to a sensational six-wicket Supersport Series win over the Cape Cobras at Kingsmead on Sunday.
The Dolphins scored 214 and 280 for four against the 216 and 276 for nine declared by the Western Province men.
He was the dominant partner with Rivash Gobind (60) in putting on 201 for the second wicket as the Dolphins chased the 279 needed for victory after the Cobras’ second-innings had been declared at 276 for nine earlier in the day.
Gobind, who made 93 in the first innings, was almost the silent supporter of the elegant Hashim as he batted for a further 229 minutes to go with his first-innings knock of more than six hours at the crease.
The Cobras once again had Alan Dawson (61 not out) and his fellow tail-enders Paul Adams (24), Mondeki Zondeki (3) and Charl Willoughby (13 not out) to thank in a morning recovery that saw 81 runs added on Sunday morning to their overnight total of 195 for seven.
On any given day, Dawson, Charl Willoughby and Dolphins rookie left-arm seamer Saidi Mhlongo would have been in the running for man-of-the-match honours.
But Hashim’s effort surpassed all else in that contest as he got his second-highest first-class score and allowed the national selectors to note his great potential.
His 153 before he was run out on a throw from Andrew Puttick included 23 sweetly struck and timed fours of classy elegance, and he was always in command as he defied everything the Cobras bowlers had in store for him in his innings of 254 minutes. In all, he faced 179 balls.
It was a match of many parts over the four days, with many highs to enthuse over — not the least being Lance Klusener’s cameo bash in which he hit 30 not out off 20 balls with two sixes and a four to seal the Dolphins’ triumph after Kyle Smit had hit an equally brisk 23 off 23 balls. — Sapa