African Safari: The tour diary

I think I have improved as an opener: Gibbs

©AFP

Not very long ago, Herschelle Gibbs was in the news for all the wrong reasons. He always seemed to end up on the wrong side of the law, be it issues at the night clubs or the match-fixing saga or more recently the drug charges in the West Indies for which he was hauled over the coals. The UCBSA even provided him with a specialist in July to ensure that he got his act together and avoided falling foul with the establishment again. And now the transformation is there for all to see. The young opener is now only 60-odd runs away from completing 1,000 runs in Test cricket in the 2001 season. His 196 in South Africa's first innings on the first day of the second Test drew wholesome applause from all quarters and all but buried India in this Test. Even before the second Test had come to a grinding halt on the fifth evening on Tuesday, Gibbs was already declared man-of-the-match by an overwhelming vote. Excerpts from an interview:

Q: You must have been disappointed at missing out on your double century in this Test?

A: You always feel disappointed when you get out and I just thought the ball was there to be hit.

Q: But going after Sachin Tendulkar when he was just in his first over?

A: That's why they say in cricket you must always respect your opposition. For a batsman, it is the bowler. I should have shown more respect towards Tendulkar. Bowlers need to be treated with respect.

Q: Were you aware that you were on 196?

A: I was, yes in a way.

Q: On hindsight do you feel you could have paced yourself towards your double century?

A: No way. I would still have gone for that stroke. The ball deserved to be hit.

Q: How do you decide which ball is to be hit and which is to be handled with caution?

A: My philosophy has always been to go for a shot if I feel the delivery warrants it. It doesn't matter what my score is at that stage.

Q: You seem to give Gary Kirsten most of the credit for your improvement as an opener. Why?

A: Because he deserves it. Many people don't realise that a lot of my success depends on Gary (Kirsten). Ours being a left-right combination means that bowler cannot settle down. Gary is also very good with his little nudges and pushes and keeps rotating the strike.

Q: You have been a converted opener but you now seem to be improving by leaps and bounds. What's the reason?

A: I think I have improved as a batsman opening the innings. My shot selection has improved, I have become tighter in defence and become a more compact batsman. Opening the innings has helped me in ironing out my looseness in footwork.

Q: During this innings of 196, you must have been surprised to see spinners get into action so quickly on the first morning?

A: Not really. Since India were playing with only two seamers the spinners were bound to get into action straightaway. On top of it, the two tweakers are good too.