Over the past few days, the ball-tampering scandal has engulfed Australian cricket, and it has all but overshadowed a keenly fought Test series till now. However South African batsman Hashim Amla feels that cricket is still about skills. It was not a war further adding that the Cape Town Test was a reality check for all the teams. Talking about the 4^th Test match, Hashim Amla said to ICC “so finally when we’re at the next Test venue, it’s all about the cricket.”

Meanwhile, South Africa is leading the four-match Test series by a 2-1 margin. The final match of the series will be played at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Amla said that their motive is all about winning the final Test and it hasn’t changed yet.

Speaking on the ball-tampering scandal, Amla said:

“We know how hard cricket is,” adding, “International sport is tough. So when things like this happen, we do feel sympathetic to a person who has made a mistake and has to pay a price for it.”

However, admitted that everybody commits mistake and it is important for an individual to learn from their mistakes.

“The important thing is to learn from them”. For a Proteas batsman, it is all about respect added Amla. “I don’t say much. I try to afford as much respect as possible. I don’t try and demean anybody,” said the middle-order batsman.

“For me, it is a skills-based sport and I try and support my teammates as much as possible. What’s happening in their camp, I don’t want to comment too much. They have their issues to deal with. It’s only the way we play our cricket (that) is important to us.” Amla also banished the idea of win at all cost attitude.

“It’s not war. It’s ridiculous to think that playing cricket is like war because, if you know the realities of war, you can’t equate the two. Yes it’s a tough battle of skill, but you’ve got to have respect for each other,” Amla signed off.