When Herschelle Gibbs was on the field, it was an immersive experience for everyone, writes the Cricket Paper’s Mohan Harihar.
He is a man that needs no introduction. However, I would be remiss if I did not give him one anyway.
Between 2002 and 2008, Gibbs – alongside Graeme Smith – formed one half of South Africa’s most prolific opening partnership in Test cricket (2,983 runs in 56 innings at an average of 56.28, with seven 100-run stands).
At the International Cricket Council 50-over World Cup in 2007, Gibbs became the first player in history to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket when he achieved the feat against the Netherlands.
His 175 off 111 balls at the Wanderers – dubbed the ‘Bullring’ for its intimidating atmosphere – against Australia in 2006, at the peak of their powers, is still widely considered the greatest ODI innings of all time.
It was an innings that saw the Proteas accomplish the impossible, chasing 434 to win – the then world record set in the first innings of the match, mere moments before Gibbs’ heroics – at a time when such scores were the stuff of only the wildest dreams.
He was a trailblazer at the top of the order and a trendsetter in the field in the 30-yard circle.
An all-round sportsman with a penchant for producing the spectacular, Gibbs remains one of the most electrifying personalities to come out of the Rainbow Nation.
Before the interview, I said: “Herschelle, just answer from the heart.”
In keeping with his playing career, unafraid to march to the beat of his own drum, he cheekily replied: “Sweet, bud. That’s the only way I know anyway”.
In this exclusive interview on behalf of 10bet, Herschelle Gibbs discusses South Africa’s team unity, the excitement around Kwena Maphaka, Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke, and countering Harry Brook’s Bazballian white-ball teams ahead of three ODIs and three T20Is.
He also talks about how the art of limited-overs spin bowling in India and Sri Lanka will be a different beast at the T20 World Cup in 2026.
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Q: Since the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, South African cricket has enjoyed sustained success across formats. The men were semi-finalists in 2023, finalists in 2024 at the T20 World Cup and recently won the World Test Championship (WTC).
From your vantage point as someone who is close to South African cricket, and given your standing in the game as both an ex-player and coach across various gigs, have you noticed a change in culture or playing landscape within South Africa that has contributed to this high level of performance and, in the case of the WTC, some much-deserved silverware?
Herschelle Gibbs: “Yeah, it’s an interesting question actually.
“With regards to our past and huge shortage of silverware, I think the last couple of years have been a lot better.
“I think with regards to our ODI team and Test squad, the various coaches have kept the spine, or the core, of the two squads together for quite a while and added players who have been on the fringes for a while.
“I think that the core of players in both squads have obviously got a bit more experience, maybe taking a bit more responsibility with their places in the team and their performances.
“You’ve got the new coach, Shukri Conrad, and the batting coach, Ashwell Prince.
“I think guys have just put their hands up and there’s a lot of unity in both the squads. Obviously with Temba [Bavuma] being captain of the Test and ODI teams, his batting has led by example which is a huge step from a captain’s perspective.
“As far as our bowlers are concerned, we’ve generally always had a strong bowling unit in both ODIs and Test cricket – in Test cricket, especially playing in South Africa.
“We’ve not had a lot of Test cricket over the last two or three years in South Africa.
“But I think the core of the players have gelled really well and there’s just a lot of unity in the two squads, and you can see the way they have fought hell for leather on the field irrespective of who they played against, whether they’ve been in South Africa or abroad.
“Obviously the T20 World Cup last year wasn’t the greatest, but like you said, they made up for it in the WTC.
“If I could put my finger on it, I just think [it’s] the unity – playing for one another – and guys raising their hands, especially the experienced players. [Aiden] Markram, [Kagiso] Rabada, [Temba] Bavuma, all put their hands up and tried to make a difference and it has obviously helped in the last couple of years.”
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Q: Three players who have really caught the eye in the last year or so have been Kwena Maphaka, Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke, all of whom have made a major impact in their short careers so far. They also excelled at various points during the recent T20 and ODI series in Australia.
For England fans who don’t know much about them yet – and I’m sure they’ll know about them soon – what can you tell us about what makes each of them so good and so dangerous?
Herschelle Gibbs: “I’ll start with the younger one, Maphaka. Obviously [he’s] a huge find and had a great Under-19 World Cup.
“He’s got good pace and good wheels on him. He’s still raw, but I think that pace is natural. There aren’t many guys these days who are bowling consistently above 150kph. The guys can still get it out there at 140kph+ quite regularly.
“I think from his [Maphaka’s] perspective, he’s raw and still very early in his international career and obviously finding his feet. He also got great experience last year in the IPL.
“He is surrounded by Rabada and [Marco] Jansen, so he [Maphaka] can obviously feed off them with regards to advice et cetera.
“With him, he’s just raw pace. His variety and change-ups will come in time. But at this stage he’s still working himself out. I mean, he’s only 19 years old. He has light years ahead of him.
“He has just made a great impact with his raw pace and his control, and I think his understanding of how he wants to bowl will come with time.
“Dewald Brevis, walking in his role model’s footsteps, AB de Villiers, is a wonderful ball striker, oozing with confidence at the moment and in a rich vein of form.
“He’s another exciting prospect. How they are using him in T20s and ODIs, I thought I caught a glimpse of their thinking as far as the coach, batting coach and maybe the captain are concerned.
“I still think there won’t be a set batting position for him. When you are as versatile as he is, you are able to use him as you want to based on the situation of the game.
“It might be worthwhile giving him a shot at number three or opening the batting – he is such a wonderful ball striker.
“But he’s doing the job lower down the order so you can’t really blame him for anything. So far, so good. He has performed wherever he’s batted, the same with Breetzke.
“He [Breetzke] gets in and looks like he wants to get hundreds. It almost reminds me of that old-fashioned mentality when you get up the order. It’s nice to get the 60s, 70s and 80s, but it’s nice to see a guy who is hungry for hundreds.
“It separates all the greats of the game [from the rest] irrespective of what format they played. It was always about the hundreds that they made.
“Breetzke, for me, looks hungry. He’s finding his feet, but can be a bit of a dasher. He takes a while to get in, but most opening batters do. If you get off to a flyer as far as an opening batter is concerned, it’s almost like a godsend. It’s not something that happens too often.
“He cuts and pulls, and is good on the front foot too. He’s a good all-round player.
“Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the left hander, hasn’t played too many games as yet but has played more in the T20s. He didn’t go too well in Zimbabwe, but those are the small margins in T20 cricket.
“But those four [Maphaka, Brevis, Breetzke and Pretorius] are obviously going to be around for the next 10 or 15 years, at least. They’re going to play a lot of international cricket, hopefully, and not too many leagues.
“I’d love them to play more international cricket and not worry about the leagues, that’s for sure. But I think they’ve all made great starts to their international careers. Your first year (or two) is always a little bit easier because the bowlers are still sussing you out as to where your weaknesses are.
“[After the first year] you get to see how good you are on different surfaces as far as the batting is concerned.
“As far as the series against England is concerned, it will be a good test for Brevis, especially. He had a couple of games in the [T20] Vitality Blast in which he did quite well.
“But in September, a lot will depend on the weather, especially up north. It might turn a bit, it might nip around, you never know. It will be a good test for him, but he’s full of confidence at the moment and very much on a high.”
Q: Speaking of turning pitches, the next T20 World Cup in February 2026 is not far away, that too in India and Sri Lanka, where spin will play a big role. With the announcement of both England and South Africa’s limited-overs sides this summer, we have seen the selection of a number of spinners, many of whom can bat – Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Rehan Ahmed and Liam Dawson, to name a few.
Shukri Conrad has come out and said “it’s ideal if you can stack your side with as many all-rounders as possible”. This might mean the likes of Tabraiz Shamsi, a bowler that could be extremely impactful in Indian and Sri Lankan conditions, missing out because his batting is not quite up to the standard of his competitors.
Do you agree that unless a bowler can bat well, they should not be included in a limited-overs side in 2025? Or is there still merit in this day and age in picking your best bowlers even if it might mean depleting the batting?
Herschelle Gibbs: “Look for me, I still think you need five or six specialist batters in ODIs. Maybe not so much in the T20s, but in the ODIs definitely because it’s obviously a longer format and you have to stretch the innings out.
“Of the spinners that you mentioned, it’s funny because George Linde, for me, is our best spinner that can bat. He’s been overlooked, sadly. He’s done really well in the games he has played. He’s been a leading spinner and made runs in the leagues, so it’s sad he hasn’t played more games, especially with the T20 World Cup coming up next year.
“I think the ship has sort of sailed for Shamsi. I think Maharaj has put up his hand, Muthusamy is there too. Bjorn Fortuin is another left-arm spinner who is not in the squad but also there on the fringes.
“But George Linde is the one guy that bats better than all of them. So, it’s sad he’s not in the mix. It’s very surprising.
“But in saying that, Keshav has done really well even in Australia where it didn’t really turn. He bowled really well and you couldn’t find a way to get him away with balls that were dead straight.
“He is mixing up his flight and pace, and line, and did the trick in Australia. But going forward for the T20 World Cup, George Linde has to come into the picture. It’s just sad he’s not in there, but that’s looking from the outside in.
“For me, what else does Shamsi offer in the field if he’s not bowling well? That, for me, is the deciding factor when it comes down to picking these guys.
“Guys always have to be fit. I always harp on this subject. You’re not only in the team for your bowling or your batting. Fielding plays such a big part, especially in T20 cricket.
“And our standards have dropped in the last couple of years as far as our fielding is concerned, which is not great. But they’re all things that add up. If we want to win the ODI or T20 World Cup, we’ve got to try and be the best in the field as well and not just with bat and ball.
“Next year [at the T20 World Cup] there might be some high-scoring encounters in India. The wickets will probably turn a bit more in Sri Lanka, but I expect some really high scores next year.
“In saying that, we might see it spin, we might not see it spin. You don’t really see balls turning prodigiously anymore in T20s especially. It certainly can take a bit of turn in ODIs, but I don’t think it’s enough spin, or there is enough time to make it turn, in T20 cricket.
“So the guys just have to mix up their pace and their lines. The spinners these days know that if it’s too full, and there’s no turn, it’s virtually six because the guys just hit from the crease.
“Their [the spinners] work is really cut out for them, more so in the T20s than the ODIs.
“I also think some of the grounds in India are tiny. In Sri Lanka they’re a bit bigger, but some of the grounds are tiny in India.”
Q: England are beginning a new white-ball era under Harry Brook. Although the playing personnel will be very different to what we have seen from England over the last five-to-six years under Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, their mantra appears to be the same: ‘go harder than anyone else’.
What would your one piece of advice be to South Africa in terms of how to combat this approach from England in their own backyard, which can be tricky?
Herschelle Gibbs: “I know a lot has been said about how England have approached their cricket, even with their Test cricket.
“I think their batters have just been given the license by [Brendon] McCullum to go ahead and express themselves irrespective of how the wicket is playing.
“He has obviously picked guys that can do that and play with the right sort of intensity and versatility.
“They’re a lot more creative in their shotmaking than a lot of other teams around the world. I look at India and say, South Africa, in the way they score their runs, England hit you in different areas of the ground and are a lot more unorthodox.
“That’s what makes them dangerous. Now, for me, it’s all well and good having that approach. But ultimately a batsman’s job is to always play the conditions and play the situation. That’s never going to change as long as cricket is cricket.
“The one observation that I’ve made is that a lot of them, not just the top three or four, are not interested in getting hundreds. They’d rather have a flashy 40, 50 or 60, but not get the hundreds.
“The hundreds, at the end of the day, still matter. The greats used to always have that hunger. There were a lot more guys that got hundreds and they stayed hungry. They wanted the hundreds.
“I don’t always get the impression that some of the batsmen in England actually want to score hundreds. They’re quite happy getting a quick 40 or 50, or whatever it might be.
“And that could be their demise because you always want that responsibility especially as a top-order batter. It’s still your responsibility to get those big scores.
“It’s not only about getting off to a good start. If the conditions don’t allow you to play a certain way, you’ve got to accept that. You can’t just play [aggressively] for the sake of playing. Batting doesn’t work that way.
“Harry Brook is obviously leading by example and scoring runs consistently. He’s a confident fellow and he’s been given the license to lead in a particular way.
“His understanding of the game will obviously get better with time, but I think he’s got all the credentials to be a really good captain.
“He’s got enough skill and variety in his artillery as far as his bowling line-up is concerned. With [Ben] Stokes out of the picture and injured most of the time now, a lot of the other lads will have to put their hands up.
“Woody [Mark Wood] is a big loss to England. That raw pace that he has does wonders. They’ve got Jofra Archer back, and I think the match-up for me will be Archer versus Brevis.
“I saw a domestic knock of his [Brevis] and he struggled a little bit with express pace. A lot of bowlers are trying to bowl short at him.
“You can see he is almost compulsive with regards to playing the short ball and that he is going to have a go irrespective of whether the ball is high or whether he has got it under control.
“Coming back to England, I think they’re going to be dangerous. Like I said, they’re very unorthodox and bat with a lot of freedom, that’s for sure, but you still want to have that responsibility of getting the big scores at the end of the day.
“You need sufficient runs on the board. The guys these days are all very confident in their hitting ability, but conditions always dictate how you play.”
Q: You mentioned England’s top order are dangerous, but potentially quite rigid in how they go about it and not the most versatile. You were, of course, a trailblazer at the top of the order in white-ball cricket along with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist.
I am sure that sort of batsmanship sits close to your heart when you watch young up-and-comers. In the current England set-up, are there any batters who fit that mold that you are quietly looking forward to watching over the next couple of weeks (even though you are on the other side of the fence and want South Africa to win, of course)?
Herschelle Gibbs: “I’ve seen one or two of the English players, not that I watch them week in and week out.
“Obviously [Ben] Duckett and Harry Brook have been really good. Some of the shots Duckett has played in the Test matches, I couldn’t believe it. It’s the way of the modern batsman, you know?
“This Bethell boy [referring to Jacob Bethell] needs a bit of backing and support, maybe, but I think he can play.
“Tom Banton. I was his coach in the [Zimbabwe Afro] T10 in Zimbabwe two years ago. He’s exciting and he’s come off some big scores this year.
“They’re just very unorthodox, and I think a lot of them play on emotion and momentum. Sometimes they can be guilty of, maybe, overdoing it a bit. You don’t want that to spoil it.
“A flashy 30 or 40 doesn’t really get you the big scores. In the ODIs, if you don’t get 300 these days you feel like you’re short. Flashy 30s or 40s are not going to get you 300.
“Sometimes I feel it’s over the top, but once you get in you do as you please. It’s the ‘getting in’ part that’s the most important. If you don’t get in as a batsman, you’re not going to get any runs.”
Q: Finally, what are your scoreline predictions for the upcoming England versus South Africa ODI and T20 series?
Herschelle Gibbs: “I think the series is going to be really competitive, especially for our ODI team.
“It’ll be nice for Breetzke and Brevis. Markram has come good at the top of the order. Temba’s been really consistent over the last couple of years.
“If we’re going to get those big scores, I don’t want us to be too predictable with regards to our batting order. For years, I’ve always said we’re too predictable with regards to how we play our cricket.
“It’s one thing to give the guys full license to express themselves, but I don’t want us to be too predictable.
“With England, they’ve got a very strong white-ball squad and bat with a lot of confidence. They’ve got some good spinners, very versatile spinners.
“All in all, I think we’re in for a really good series, but a lot depends on the overhead conditions which play a big part in the United Kingdom.
“I think in the T20s you guys might beat us 2-1. But in the ODIs, it’ll be 2-1 to South Africa. England take the T20 series, we take the ODI series.”
Herschelle Gibbs was chatting on behalf of 10bet. For more information, visit https://www.10bet.co.uk/sports
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