Amla faces a difficult road

When Hashim Amla made the 100-foot journey from the Kingsmead change room to its centre stage, runs would have been the last thing on his mind, even though he had only scored 138 in his last nine innings. Instead, his head could swim with the problems he has to solve in the next three days.

Even if South Africa pull off a great escape, the balance of the side is so skewed that they will need to recalibrate before the second Test but they are not quite sure how. They face cul de sacs in every direction, even on the roads they have paved for themselves, as limitations with the current squad and from the transformation guidelines have forced them into a claustrophobic corner of confusion.

Their first obstacle lies with the 13 they named for the first two Tests (not just the Boxing Day match) which they feel compelled to make proper use of before looking elsewhere, as one selector explained on radio commentary yesterday. That suggests if any changes are to be made to the XI that takes the field in Cape Town, they will come from within the group.

The obvious change is that Kagiso Rabada will play in place of Dale Steyn, a switch likely to be enforced by injury. Rabada's inclusion gives South Africa another tick in the transformation column which could come in handy if they need to dispense with a player of colour (JP Duminy, for example) but then they have to find a suitable batting reserve. The only replacement batsman in the squad is Rilee Rossouw. Like van Zyl, he is a regular No. 3 but there may be temptation for him to open the batting to give van Zyl a reprieve or he could slot into the middle order.

What the selectors are squabbling over is whether those two switches could be enough to paper over the considerable cracks that have been exposed at Kingsmead or whether they need more.

An experienced, reliable opener rather than a makeshift one seems essential for more reasons than because it would make Amla's job easier. It would make everybody's job easier. Better still, South Africa have someone they can use but are stubbornly refusing for age-related reasons.

Thirty-three year-old Stephen Cook is crying out for a call-up and today cawed louder. He scored an unbeaten 168 for the Lions in their ongoing first-class fixture against the Warriors, a week after carrying his bat with an unbeaten half-century for South Africa A against the touring English. He may not be a long-term solution but he does not have to be. At the moment, he is in form and at the moment, South Africa need that. After this series, they can take another look at the opening options; while it still going on, they just need solve them.

The same can be said for the wicket-keeping burden which needs to be mapped out more carefully but right now needs to be fixed quickly. Despite AB de Villiers agreeing to take the gloves for the first two Tests, he is burdened by it and has said so publicly. The quicker he can be relieved of that, the more South Africa will get out of him with the bat and the more they could get out of him in the next few years.

Even though it hardly seems possible for de Villiers to score more - given that he has been holding South Africa together - he has not had a special since his 148 against West Indies in Cape Town in January. That was the same match in which Amla last scored 50. That they have hit rough patches at the same time is affecting South Africa severely. That de Villiers' lean run has coincided with him being overworked could affect South Africa even more if it leads to his early retirement.

The solution seems simple: bring back Quinton de Kock who has found form in all formats after bring dropped in Bangladesh. De Kock scored centuries in South Africa's ODIs in India, finished the domestic 20-over competition as the top scorer, hit a half-century against England in the warm-up and a century in the current round of first-class matches. He could relieve de Villiers and provide South Africa with the seventh specialist batsman they seem set on but there is still some hesitation about slotting him in.

Why? He could tip the transformation scale the wrong way. If de Kock plays, another batsman has to go. Duminy, unless he saves South Africa in the second innings, seems the obvious candidate. Temba Bavuma, who is the less experienced, is the other. Both are players of colour.

That means that unless Rabada plays, which would require Steyn to stay injured, de Kock's inclusion could come at the cost of a commitment Cricket South Africa made to change. They cannot afford that. They could, however, get creative which would mean Faf du Plessis, who has had single-digit scores in five of his last ten innings, could find himself on the sidelines. That would not be difficult to justify as there is little to choose between him and Duminy when it comes to considering who is contributing but it will rob South Africa of experience.

Again, this is something South Africa may only have to consider after Cape Town when it is more likely that Steyn will be fit. Then they could keep Rabada but Kyle Abbott will have to go in order to stay within the guideline of four players of colour (Amla, Bavuma, Dane Piedt and Rabada) and still have seven specialist batsmen and include de Kock.

If Vernon Philander recovers from his ankle ligament tear then Rabada might make way but only if Bavuma stays so that there is at least one black African in the XI. If something happens to Piedt along the way and Simon Harmer needs to come back in, everything written here must be scrapped and the equation has to start again.

These are not simple times to be selecting a South African team and even though Amla only plays a peripheral role in that, it is he who has to lead them onto the field. There is evidence to suggest that is nagging at him. He does not look like the same flowing, fluent batsmen he is and he is not flourishing in the same way he used to. He is not moving his feet and he is not focusing on his shot selection.

In the first innings, he chased a wide one and was lucky to be let off when Jonny Bairstow put the catch down. In the second innings, he chased a wide one and Bairstow held on. For Amla to make the same mistake twice in the same match is enough to raise concern, for him to do it twice when South Africa needed him most suggests there is a deeper issue.

Amla was always a reluctant captain although the accepted the Test job wholeheartedly last July. If that same reluctance has now crept back someone needs to find out why. It may be as obvious as loss of form or the intricacies of selection, it may be the difficulties that come with leading a team in transition or it may be something else. Whatever it is, South Africa can no longer hope the road will just get easier, they have to find a way to clear their own path or the downhill ride could be dangerous.