African Safari: The tour diary
©AFP Not very long ago, Herschelle Gibbs was in the news for all the wrong reasons
Ashish Shukla
21-Nov-2001
I think I have improved as an opener: Gibbs
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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.