Herschelle Gibbs was a mirage. In the shimmering distance he appeared corporeal, but on closer inspection there was nothing there. The promise of sustenance never fulfilled. It’s a sad thing to be writing about such a talent, but if there is any justice Gibbs has played his last game for South Africa.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) might wish to use Gibbs’s off-field antics as a stick with which to beat him, but the truth of the matter is that if anyone in the corridors of power had had a good look at his record his contract would have been cancelled years ago.
Then there would have been no need to send him off to that place Amy Winehouse refuses to attend.
Gibbs had a false start to his Test career. Picked too soon, he battled in India in 1996 and against Australia in 1997. He averaged less than 20 in both seasons and had to wait for political intervention for his second chance.
It came against the West Indies in Port Elizabeth in December 1998. In the first Test at the Wanderers the national selectors had the temerity to select an all-white team. Sports minister at the time Steve Tshwete announced that in the circumstances he could no longer support the national team and president Nelson Mandela quietly cancelled a visit to the Wanderers to meet both teams.
The sacrificial lamb turned out to be Adam Bacher.
The Transvaal opener had endured a run of poor scores and despite the fact that Gibbs was a middle-order player for Western Province he was drafted in to face the great West Indian new ball pair of Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. The results were predictable. Walsh got him for two in the first innings, Ambrose for four in the second. He got steadily better as the one-sided series progressed without ever suggesting that he was about to become a dominant force in Test cricket — and the fact of the matter is that he never did. It was different in one-day cricket.
He scored his maiden ODI century in the fourth match of the post-Test series against the West Indies and Gibbs’s career from then on was judged by his dazzling play in one-day cricket.
There were exceptions. In March 2002 at Kingsmead Gibbs was the man of the match against Australia. He top-scored in both innings and his second-innings century spearheaded South Africa’s successful chase of an unlikely 340 for victory. He defied Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne. Indeed, defied is an understatement: at times he treated them with scorn. But there is an unfortunate codicil to the above. The Test was the sixth between the two sides that season and Australia won the first five. It is a melancholy reminder of the fact that when runs were scarce and morale low, the man to turn to was rarely Gibbs. But give him a flat pitch and the pressure of a five-day-old balloon and watch him soar.
That was never more apparent than in his most famous innings: the 175 against Australia at the Wanderers in March 2006. Australia made a world-record score of 434 and South Africa were 3 for 1 when Gibbs joined Graeme Smith. The pair played like millionaires because there was no other choice. Moreover, it didn’t matter if they failed, because no one could be expected to chase down such an immense score in 50 overs. So Gibbs could play his lofted cover drive with the open face to his heart’s content. The pressure came only when he got out, with 136 still needed and only six wickets in hand. As well as Gibbs played that day it’s hard to believe that if he had come in down the order he would have had the nerve and technique to finish the game off the way Mark Boucher did. It would have been out of character — and Gibbs was always true to his character.
Set a curfew: Herschelle will break it. Throw his wicket away to earn some money for his corrupt captain: no problem. Get your head down and graft for runs: sorry, that’s not how I play.
And sadly even Smith seems to buy into the nonsense surrounding Gibbs. In the wake of his axing from the squad to play Bangladesh last week Smith said: ‘We all care for Herschelle a helluva lot. He’s been a part of our lives for a long time. He’s the sort of talent who really deserves to go out on his own terms. He’s given his country a lot of good times and some hair-raising times but from our point of view we’d love to see him back and we’re encouraging him to take the processes and go and get his life back on track. He can add value but he’s got to make that step towards where we want him to first.â€
Don’t hold your breath, Graeme. This time he’s gone for good.