Cook saddened with Amla stepping down as Proteas skipper

England skipper Alastair Cook has expressed disappointment over Hashim Amla's resignation as South African Test captain.

Amla had stepped down as Proteas Test skipper shortly after the conclusion of the drawn second Test against England at Newlands on Wednesday.

Describing Amla as a 'nice' personality, the 31-year-old said that the outgoing skipper would have his reasons to resign from the post, Sport24 reported.

Cook, who considers captaincy as a huge honour, admitted that huge pressure is associated with the job.

Amla's leadership had come under sharp criticism since the start of the England series but he returned to form with the bat, scoring 201 in the first innings at Newlands.

This was Amla's sixth series as South African skipper after he took over the captaincy from Graeme Smith in mid-2014.

After winning his first three series against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies, he oversaw a rain-affected drawn series against Bangladesh and the 3-0 defeat in India.

With his resignation, swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers will be captaining the side in the final two Tests of the series in Johannesburg and Centurion.