Amla: Hurt and disappointed
2006-08-10 21:58
Durban - "I was hurt and disappointed, but I haven't lost any sleep about it."
That was the comment from Protea cricketer, Hashim Amla, 23, on Thursday after Australian cricket commentator Dean Jones described him as a "terrorist" earlier this week during his commentary of the South African-Sri Lanka match in Colombo.
After Amla took his fourth catch of the match to dismiss Kumar
Sangakkara, Jones, not realising that his microphone was still on, said that "the terrorist has got another wicket".
At the time Jones made the statement, all TV channels, bar South African ones, were running advert breaks.
Earlier that week, Jones raised eyebrows when he said on air that Sangakkara and fellow batsman Mahela Jayawardene would not be getting Christmas cards from teammate Sanath Jayasuriya after they pipped his record.
Speaking to the Witness at Kingsmead Stadium, Amla said that what had happened had happened and it was time to move on.
"Dean phoned me to apologise and he sounded sincere. As a Muslim, I have been brought up to forgive. We all make mistakes, so I have accepted his apology.
Shocked and disappointed
"Why he said it? God knows. I don't know him and he doesn't know me."
Amla said that he had initially thought that a friend, who sent him an SMS telling him of Jones's statement, was joking, but that his team manager had confirmed it at dinner that evening.
"My teammates have been very supportive. I think that they were just as shocked and disappointed as I was.
"Any person will tell you there is no room for religious or racial stereotypes in a progressive society."
Asked if Jones's statement had changed his opinion of whether Australia was a progressive society, Amla said he had not had enough experience playing the Aussies to know about their sledging habits.
However, all cricketers were used to sledging, he said, some of it humerous, some of it personal.
Break the opponent's concentration
"I'm not saying that it is win at all costs, but it is, of course, highly competitive. The whole purpose is to break the opponent's concentration."
Amla said that, as a Muslim man, he was bound to keep his beard at least a fist-length, since all of God's messengers to Earth from Moses to Mohammed had had beards.
Asked if he felt that he had a role to play in shaping public opinion about racism and other social issues, Amla said that whether a sportsperson liked it or not, they would be a role mode to someone.
"It would be naive to think that anyone in the public eye has no role to play there," he added.
Really wanted a swim
"I am a Muslim first and a cricketer. I don't see myself as having a platform to change the world, but this has certainly been a lesson for all of us," he explained.
Speaking about his life off the cricket field, Amla confirmed that he had no serious girlfriend, and said that he had been hankering for a swim off Durban's beaches after the heat in Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, he had returned to a cold spell, he said.
Now it was time to return to the nets in time for the start of the domestic season from October 1.