Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan: South Africa have a natural leader in AB de Villiers

Michael Vaughan thinks South Africa have found a "natural leader" in AB De Villiers. The former England batsman thinks Hashim Amla's decision to resign the captaincy will prove to be a good thing for the Proteas, as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the four-game Test series.

Amla, 32, announced his decision to quit the job shortly after South Africa and England drew the second Test at Newlands in Cape Town. Vaughan thinks the move will help Amla's batting and the South African team more generally, having lost four of their last six Test matches.

"Hashim Amla's resignation is dangerous for England. Now South Africa will regain the brilliant, consistent batsman and in AB De Villiers they now have a natural leader in charge of the team," Vaughan wrote in his column in The Telegraph.

"South Africa will be stronger for this decision. When you have a captain that is not really enjoying the job or comfortable in the role it can infect the dressing room.

"But now South Africa have a leader who desperately wants the job, and it may prolong De Villiers' Test career. There has been talk of him retiring at the end of the series but who knows, maybe he will play for a couple more years now, and will only be good news for Test cricket."

Vaughan also said he admired Amla's decision to resign, because he could have easily continued in the role until the end of the current series.

He explained: "I respect Amla for stepping down now. He could have dragged it out for the rest of the series but he has gone out on a high, having scored a double hundred and saved the team from a defeat that would have ended their chances of winning the series.

"He hands over to De Villiers with two Tests to go and South Africa still in with a chance to win 2-1. A new captain can make an instant impact and there is still plenty of life left in this series."

The third Test in the series begins at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on 14 January.