According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the club is eyeing a completion of Amla’s potential deal within the next week, in lieu of the no-deal Brexit which is likely to, among other implications, stop any further Kolpak deals by the end of the month, and remove Kolpak players by 2021.

Amla, South Africa’s second-highest run-getter in Tests, could be a handy inclusion for Surrey, who are likely to lose key batsmen Rory Burns and Ollie Pope to international commitments for lengthy periods next season.

[caption id=”attachment_123293″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Amla’s latest county stint was with Hampshire in 2018, when he averaged 54.66 from five Championship games[/caption]

As an overseas player, Amla has had multiple but short county stints with five teams, garnering a total of 2192 first-class runs in 25 games across six seasons. His maiden county stint was with Essex, in 2009. He has also represented Nottinghamshire, in 2010, Surrey [2013/14], Derbyshire [2015] and Hampshire [2018]. Amla has also played eight One-Day Cup games, and seven T20 Blast games across seasons.

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Surrey wasn’t the only option for Amla; according to the report, the 36-year-old’s representative was also in discussions with Middlesex and Hampshire.

In the international scene, Amla averaged 60.33 from 11 Tests in England, posting his career-best score of 311* at The Oval, Surrey’s home ground, in 2012. Overall, he averaged 46.64 from 124 Tests, accumulating 9282 runs for South Africa – only behind Jacques Kallis’ tally – from 2004 to 2019.

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In 2017, there were several reports of Amla considering a Kolpak deal, putting question marks over his international commitments at that time, but the batsman eventually extended his South Africa career until the 2019 World Cup, managing 203 runs in seven games, before announcing his retirement.