Neil Manthorp CRICKET
Herschelle Gibbs is to the South African cricket team what a glass of Eno is to the nocturnally reckless come the morning after – a welcome shot of effervescence and bubble.
He’s the one who keeps the guys going when tours start disappearing over the psychological horizon; he’s the tension- breaker on the field with his special brand of Cape Town humour – especially in places where it’s needed most, like India.
Just as all that is valid, so is the point that Gibbs is not a whiner. So when he does sound less than chirpy he deserves to be listened to. “Look, I wouldn’t have changed my life for the world – it’s fantastic. But I’ve been taking strain since I got back from Sharjah.
“It’s difficult to get out of bed in the morning. I can hardly open my eyes and I’ve had a sore throat and various other minor things.”
Partly to blame, Gibbs believes, are the air-conditioning systems invariably present in hotels and on aircraft. But that’s not all. “You don’t know how important it is to stick to the kind of diet you’re used to,” he says. “When it changes your energy levels go down. And I’m not even a bowler – they take incredible strain.”
Taking even more extra strain will be Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Nantie Hayward, who are due to play in a World XI against an Asia XI in Bangladesh on April 8. That means they will have had just four days in South Africa, and on their return they fly straight to Durban to prepare for the Australian series of three one-day internationals beginning at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
Although he acknowledges most of the squad are exhausted and finding it difficult to focus on the clash with Steve Waugh’s men, Gibbs has no doubt that by the time Wednesday arrives they will all be ready to face the challenge.
“There’s a huge amount of pride at stake,” Gibbs says. “None of us has forgotten what
happened at Edgbaston. And, sure, it would give us a small amount of revenge if we beat
them.
“It wouldn’t matter if we ran a marathon before playing them – we’ll be up
for it.”