Hashim Amla begins new dawn as South Africa captain

Hashim Amla began his reign as South Africa Test captain in Galle on Wednesday at the start of a two-match series against Sri Lanka.

The 31-year-old is the team's first permanent non-white captain, replacing Graeme Smith who retired in March after a record 109 Tests as skipper.

His team can usurp Australia at the top of the Test rankings with a 2-0 win.

Last month Sri Lanka recorded their first victory against England in a Test series of more than one match.

The Sri Lankans include former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, the joint highest Sri Lanka Test run scorer, who announced last week that he would retire from Test cricket next month after the two-match home series with Pakistan.

South Africa, who recorded a 2-1 win in the preceding limited overs games to claim their first one-day international series success in Sri Lanka, have also seen wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and star all-rounder Jacques Kallis retire in recent times.

ODI skipper AB de Villiers will play as a specialist batsman to protect a hamstring injury, with 21-year-old Quinton de Kock to keep wicket.

The series concludes with a second match in Colombo starting on 24 July.