Herschelle Gibbs

South Africa|Opening Batter
Herschelle Gibbs
INTL CAREER: 1996 - 2010
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Full Name

Herschelle Herman Gibbs

Born

February 23, 1974, Green Point, Cape Town, Cape Province

Age

50y 25d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Bowler

Playing Role

Opening Batter

Herschelle Gibbs, who once owned up, with perverse pride, to never having read a book, has essayed enough incendiary innings to fill a fat volume and, in the field, cut down many a batsman with all the electric grace of an enraged poet. Though he might not bother with many more words than yes, no, wait, and mine, Gibbs inspires superlatives from those who marvel at his appetite for the spectacular. Ordinary he is not.

Gibbs has played some of the most outrageous strokes yet seen. How many other batsmen practice, seriously, cutting fast bowlers for six? Or drive throat balls down the ground? Or make pulling off the front foot look everyday? That goes for whether he is batting in the middle of the order or at the top, and whether the ball is old or new. Gibbs has put all that together so many times that he can't be accused of being some charlatan who deals in fluke and luck.

He did so in the grandest of manner at the Wanderers in 2006 to score 175 off 111 balls and help South Africa clinch a one-day series against Australia. The battleground scenes of this extraordinary match, that delivered totals of 434 for four and 438 for nine, swirled all about. But Gibbs batted with the glee of a teenager armed with his father's credit card in a strip club. Pressure? That's what other people feel.

When South Africans wondered who would replace Jonty Rhodes as a fielder of the most predatory type, Gibbs answered the call.

However, not all of the superlatives attached to him are positive, for when too much talent trips over itself, demons often also lurk. Alas, so it is with Gibbs. He is perhaps as gifted as any sportsman can be. He is also as poorly equipped for the trials of daily life as any human being can safely be. Dark tales of marijuana smoking, drunk driving and match-fixing have blotted his career. Gibbs is about as close as cricket has come to producing a punk rocker, a figure who veers too close to self-destruction too often for the likes of those who prefer their cricketers unblemished by the real world.

They can rest assured, because Gibbs' time at the top is nearing its end. A first-class career that began when he was just 16 is now into its 20th summer. As his 40s loom, he may even pick up a book or two.
Telford Vice

Herschelle Gibbs Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests901547616722841.951227050.26142688747940
ODIs24824016809417536.13972183.2621379301281080
T20Is2323140090*18.18318125.7803451280
FC193331131342522842.21--3160--1760
List A389370321197617535.43--2762--1710
T20s171167133895101*25.293163123.14128404120760

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests901640---4.00-000
ODIs248------------
T20Is23------------
FC193-1387832/14-26.003.3946.0-00
List A389-665721/161/1628.505.1833.0000
T20s171------------
Herschelle Herman Gibbs

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Photos of Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs will be the new head coach of Karachi Kings
The Help for Heroes team and the Rest of the World XI at the end of the Cricket for Heroes charity match at The Oval
Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs looked out of touch before being bowled for 5
Morne Morkel and other Titans players celebrate a wicket
Herschelle Gibbs was dismissed cheaply