Hashim Amla may have had a torrid time in the Test series in India but coach Russell Domingo backed the South African captain to come good in the upcoming rubber against England.
Amla started off the 2012 series against England with an innings of 311 not out, but is one of the batsmen under pressure to perform after a disastrous outing in India during the 0-3 whitewash.
Domingo said he was not unduly concerned about the batting of Amla, who has failed to score a century in his last seven Tests. He was confident that a big innings was just around the corner for Amla.
"(Amla's) record in the past six or seven years is better than most players in the world. He is so near a big innings, he hits the ball really well. There are just one or two things that must go right for him.
"I will not be surprised if (Amla) has a good innings against England," Domingo was quoted as saying by Afrikaans daily 'Beeld'.
Although Amla may have a home advantage at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban where the Boxing Day Test starts on Saturday, the Proteas do not have a good record at the ground.
Domingo confirmed that former star Lance Klusener has been roped in to guide the tail-end batsmen in an effort to get more out of them.
Saying that the team has moved on from the series defeat in India, Domingo said that the batsmen had to deal with "extreme circumstances" there.
The coach felt that England were also in a similar position as the home team.
"They are also struggling to get an opening batsman, they also have questions about who should keep wicket and who their third seamer should be. They have also lost their previous series against Pakistan," Domingo concluded.
