Amla adds to SA woes as Faf considers future

South Africa's miserable World Cup campaign continued Friday with Hashim Amla in doubt for their final game after injuring his knee playing soccer at Old Trafford.

Just 30 minutes after captain Faf du Plessis held a candid press conference in which he admitted he will consider his international playing future in the coming weeks, Amla went down holding his left knee in a warm-up football game at training.

The 36-year-old limped to the edge of the makeshift playing field before being escorted back to the dressing rooms to ice his left knee. He took no further part in training but was able to walk, albeit gingerly, as he left the ground.

A South Africa spokeswoman said Amla would be monitored overnight before they make a call on his fitness on Saturday morning.

It comes a day after four Australians sustained injuries in a horror training session in Manchester. Shaun Marsh was ruled out of the World Cup with a broken arm, while Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and Jason Behrendorff suffered injury scares of their own, though all three are expected to be available for selection on Saturday.

Amla's mishap could well throw the Proteas' selection plans into disarray, given their only reserve batsman David Miller is carrying a groin injury. Before Amla went down, du Plessis had flagged an unchanged XI for the game against Australia.

Imran Tahir and JP Duminy will play their final ODIs against Australia on Saturday but Amla, one of the most prolific run-scorers in ODI history, has said he intends to continue playing despite a sub-par tournament in which he's managed two half-centuries in seven innings at a strike-rate of 64.85.

The 34-year-old du Plessis, captain of South Africa in all three formats, said he will weigh up his own future after the World Cup.

"My plan was to commit fully to the World Cup and not even think of anything else further because I didn't want my mind to start drifting into the future," said du Plessis.

"Right now is possibly not the best time to be making decisions because you are disappointed – you don't want to be in this mode when you are making career decisions.

"It will be a case of taking some time off and reflecting: What does the future look like for me? What's my purpose going forward? Is it still playing all three formats for South Africa? Those are the things that I would need to consider.

"I feel in terms of my own game, the last year is certainly the best I have ever played. I still believe I'm on top of my own game, so performance-wise there is no question marks there.

"Two or three weeks after this tournament, (I'll be) seeing what the future holds for me over the next year, two years."

Du Plessis admitted he's unsure whether South Africa will suffer another exodus of players fleeing the national side after the World Cup for 'Kolpak' deals in the United Kingdom.

AB de Villiers retired from international cricket last year before it was sensationally revealed he'd offered to return for the World Cup, while the likes of Morne Morkel, Duanne Olivier, Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw have all accepted contracts with English counties in recent years that prevent them from playing for South Africa.

The lure of domestic T20 leagues is also an issue, conceded Du Plessis.

"Both of those areas are big concerns for cricketers in South Africa," the skipper continued.

"Looking at the one-day side, your players that will move on from the Proteas would potentially move on to the T20 circuit … but that is generally where the opportunities lie for the white-ball players.

"Naturally, with some of the guys finishing, they'll do that… That will become the biggest issue for us to try and stay away from for all players, including myself."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE