Herschelle Gibbs
Mark Adair
Andy Balbirnie
Curtis Campher
George Dockrell
Barry McCarthy
Paul Stirling
Harry Tector
Lorcan Tucker
Ben White
Craig Young
Alphabetically sorted top ten of players who have played the most matches across formats in the last 12 months
Full Name
Herschelle Herman Gibbs
Born
February 23, 1974, Green Point, Cape Town, Cape Province
Age
50y 361d
Batting Style
Right hand Bat
Bowling Style
Right arm Bowler
Playing Role
Opening Batter
TEAMS
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
Herschelle Gibbs T20 Stats
Batting & Fielding
Bowling
Records of Herschelle Gibbs
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Recent Matches of Herschelle Gibbs
Match | Bat | Date | Ground | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|
SA Champs vs ENG Champs | 26 | 04-Jul-2024 | Birmingham | OTHERT20 |
Giants vs Maharajas | 89 | 27-Jan-2022 | Al Amerat | OTHERT20 |
Giants vs Lions | 12 | 26-Jan-2022 | Al Amerat | OTHERT20 |
SA Legends vs WI Legends | 1 | 11-Mar-2020 | DY Patil | OTHERT20 |
Leo Lions vs Virgo SKings | 12 | 04-Feb-2016 | Sharjah | OTHERT20 |
Debut/Last Matches of Herschelle Gibbs
Test Matches
ODI Matches
T20I Matches