Herschelle Gibbs has been raking in the big bucks through playing in various T20 competitions around the globe and although he has been out of the Proteas fold for some time now, he still has a respectful following in South Africa. The Sports-Man is certainly one of them.
When Herschelle played in a one-day international, there was nobody as eager as the Sports-Man to watch him bat. If Gibbs lost his wicket, it felt as if half the excitement of that game left the field with him!
6x Sixes vs Netherlands
Who can forget him sharing the Man of the Match award with Ricky Ponting (who declined the award) in that famous 438 game at the Wanderers during the 2005/2006 season. Gibbs batted at the all-important 3 spot and came in under pressure with Boeta Dippenaar gone for only 1 run. What transpired thereafter is part of South African and World Cricket history.
He reached his 16th one-day century off a mere 79 balls and went on to score 175 off 111 balls, which remains the second highest score for a South African until today. He laid a mighty foundation for Makhaya Ntini, of all people, to guide a Brett Lee ball to third man, batting at 11 to tie the scores. Wicket-keeper Boucher then hit Lee for four the very next ball to win it for SA!
Enough of going down memory lane - Apologies, but the Sports-Man could not resist. This post is about Gibbs sharing his disappointment about the manner in which Jacques Kallis has been choosing when and where he wants to play (or not play) for the Proteas.
The Sports-Man for one, has never really taken anything Herschelle had to say too seriously. How can you when he still, at his age, gives you that "naughty" I-just-did-another-silly-thing smile of his? Gibbs never seems serious about anything, or is that just his personality? Is that part of his public "image"?
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Herschelle Gibbs fan, but that is probably limited to the way he plays his cricket - at a million miles per hour and when he delivers, he delivers some of the most exciting cricket you will ever witness. Does he have a valid point about Kallis and should we listen, for once, what Gibbs has to say?
According to Gibbs, Kallis cannot decide when he wants to play and when he does not want to play. He has to keep on playing. Surely, as we have seen rugby players do these days, cricketers like Kallis especially, need to prolong their careers in some way or another and playing less ODI's is the only way Kallis can stay fresh to keep on performing in the Test arena.
South Africa, in my opinion, need a fresh Kallis to bat and bowl in Tests to keep the Proteas anchored at the top of the Test rankings. And, surely Kallis does not decide this all on his own? Surely the selectors and coaching team are part of this decision-making process?
What do you think? Do you know something that the Sports-Man does not?
