Durban: Series against South Africa are generally known for one thing: the resignation of an England captain.

Three times in less than a decade South Africa finished off a long-standing England skipper starting with Nasser Hussain in 2003, then Michael Vaughan in 2008 before ending with Andrew Strauss four years later.

But perhaps finally it is England’s chance to turn from hunted to hunter with Hashim Amla their prey. Yes it is too early to write him off as captain just yet. The series is barely two days old, Kingsmead is his bogey ground with an average here of only 19 and this match is likely to be decided by a whisker. But England have played on his current vulnerability as Amla cuts a rather different figure from the one who has dominated England with the bat for so long averaging 59 in their last three series.

Amla is not only leading a team in transition but also having to prove his heart is really in it. He stepped down as vice captain of the limited overs team in 2013 to concentrate on batting and it was a surprise when he announced he wanted to replace Graeme Smith a year later as Test captain.

He was appointed ahead of AB de Villiers for fear of over burdening their brilliant wicketkeeper, batsman and all-round superhero. Amla is trying to be his own man. Smith told BBC Test Match Special yesterday that he has not had a single conversation with Amla about captaincy. It sounds a little like Alastair Cook in the early days before he realised his predecessors know a thing or two about doing his job.

Shouldering this burden alone has impacted on Amla’s batting as soon as South Africa faced decent opposition. England probed his outside edge with wonderful precision as Chris Woakes did his best James Anderson impersonation with the new ball while Stuart Broad never veered from the imaginary fourth stump outside off. In all, Amla edged four of his 24 deliveries. One was dropped, one was not reviewed, another went through the cordon for four before finally he was squared up by Broad and Bairstow held on.

Watching all this was the man who looms large over this team like one of Africa’s big five game animals. Smith is here as a commentator and was filming a piece to camera on the pitch during the lunch interval. Talk of a comeback is genuine. He is believed to be viewing the Master Champions League Twenty20 tournament next month as the precursor to a full-blown return. A stint in county cricket may follow if his knee does not react badly to playing again almost two years into retirement. “Retiring at 33 leaves you with that feeling in the back of your mind that you could still do it,” he said on day one here before adding enigmatically “it is not something I am thinking about and I would have to have an unbelievable Masters to even consider it.” Hmmm. Not only is Smith’s captaincy missed but replacing him as a batsman has been a fraught process.