Gibbs On The Rise Again?

The Challenge Of The Mid 30s

This is a story familiar to a lot of top batsmen around the world: there comes that time in the later days of their career when that inevitable, despairing form slump finds its way back into their game like a virus. The problem is that when this happens to them when they are 35 or so, the world suddenly turns cruel. Fickle fans are the first to cry murder (or ‘drop him!’). Then the debate starts amongst the experts (‘he just isn’t the same batsman anymore, or is he?’). The media kindles the fire. Teammates, though, generally stay sympathetic. The final call then rests with the coach and the selectors. In better times the player himself is first consulted. But if he has rubbed those in authority the wrong way, it generally means it is time for a golden handshake.

While all this chaos is occurring, the player has to somehow find a quiet corner for himself, shut everything out and think whether he believes he is ready for the grind and the mental battle to lift himself once again. Can he still find a fresh purpose in launching himself to another pinnacle in his career, or is it time to finally stretch those legs and relax that weary mind once and for all? The world only makes it tougher with every passing day, and it is a fact that no athlete has an infinite number of mental comebacks within him. There will come that day when he will feel that he’s had enough and it is time to hang up those boots…

Gibbs Has The Right Answer, For Now…

Gibbs, perhaps, was on the verge of reaching the point where he would have had to begin to ask himself questions. For one, he is 35. Then, he is no longer a part of the test set-up. And before Port Elizabeth he hadn’t got an ODI hundred for over a year. Frustratingly for himself and his well-wishers, he had constantly been getting starts and blowing them. > A lot of people had already begun to doubt if he had the will and the freshness left in him to dominate bowlers once again. Importantly, though, it seems that Gibbs himself believed that he did, and on Monday he proved it.

His hundred at Port Elizabeth put all the doubts to rest, at least for now. It was not just the fact that he got a hundred but also the way he got it. His dominating and audacious stroke-making, exquisite timing and the ability to find the gaps were all there. He did ride his luck a bit, but then that’s how Gibbs always bats. Most importantly, it was quite evident that his ability hasn’t diminished. He can still plant his foot across and glide a good lengther outside the off-stump for six over fine-leg. Probably the most crucial observation on display at Port Elizabeth, however, was that the most critical aspect of Gibbs’ dominating batting is still thriving: his early judgment of line and length. It has been this skill that’s been the key to all his success, and it was the key to the hundred on Monday as well. Once he had got his eye in, on almost every ball he appeared in position to play his shot with light years to spare. Perhaps it was the extra energy he felt in his steps on the morning of the game. This is what he attributed his hundred to, when asked during the presentation ceremony what clicked for him on the day.

Anyway, it is quite clear that Gibbs still has the game to be regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in the world. The million dollar question, though, is whether he still has the desire. Does he have as much hunger to get runs for South Africa as he did when he was 25 years old? If he does, it will be hard for bowlers to stop him. But for now, this is a question that only Gibbs himself can answer.