Gary's going great

Faisal Shariff

He is the first South African in more than half a century to score a hundred in both innings of a Test, and is also his country's highest Test run-scorer and joint holder of the highest Test knock. He believes it is really just that you happen to play well on certain days, and hopes to continue with the good form that he is in. And his tongue is nowhere close to the inside of his cheek.

Gary Kirsten seems to enjoy Indian bowling -- his average against India is much higher than that against all other teams, with the exception of Bangladesh.

With an undefeated 133 against India in the first encounter of the Summer Spice series, Kirsten has provided the visitors an appetizer before the main course, which is the Test series, later next month.

"I like to attack the Indians from the word go. I do feel very confident against the Indians every time I go out there and take guard against them, probably because I've always done well against them," reckons the left-handed Protean opener.

Half-brother of cavalier batsman Peter Kirsten, Gary doesn’t merely open the innings for his country; he defines its cricketing mindset.

A disciplined approach, an unshakeable work ethic, a determination to maximize every single moment spent on the cricket pitch, and a burning desire to succeed are hallmarks of the man.

And even as there are whispers of complacency plaguing this squad as they take on India before the war with the Aussies later in the year, Kirsten dismisses these charges with disdain.

“I don’t think any player would think like that. The Indians are a very good side, and though they might not have a great overseas record, let us not forget that they recently beat the world champions, Australia, in a Test series, and that is no mean feat.

"Even though the victory came at home, it is still huge because defeating Australia anywhere is very difficult."

He cautions further that to take the Indian side lightly would be a huge mistake.

"I think the Indians are better prepared for the tour this time. Most of them have been here before, they have some world class players. Sachin (Tendulkar) and Sourav (Ganguly) are always a threat in the limited-overs game, (Rahul) Dravid and Sachin are always dangerous in Tests. With Srinath and Agarkar, who seems to be bowling very well, the Indian bowling has some balance, what with (Anil) Kumble and Harbhajan Singh bowling spin.

"I think we have a big series ahead of us, and it would be foolish for us to underestimate this team and take it lightly."

Kirsten has, along with Herschelle Gibbs, forged a strong opening partnership for South Africa. Despite having faced the match-fixing allegations, Gibbs has come back with a vengeance and provided the fragile Protean batting the much-needed stability at the top. The left-right hand combination has played a role in their success, as also the fact that they bat together for Western Province in the domestic league for the last 10-11 years.

Kirsten is all praise for Gibbs's comeback. "He is a talented cricketer, who has always shown great potential; he's gained in confidence with every outing. After all that he had to go through, I think it took character to come back as well as he has, and today he has proved that he is among the best openers in world cricket."

Having played for eight or nine years at the highest level, he reckons that experience is easily the key to surviving at the top.

"My basic aim always is to work to the game plan, and not to take too many risks. I don't experiment too much; I just do what I know I can do, he says."

Coming from a country where the pigment of one's skin determined destinies not so long ago, Gary abhors the apartheid system, which, according to him, was a very bad system that left the majority of the population underprivileged and underdeveloped.

"Unfortunately there are people that are trying to fast track it and make it happen quicker than it should actually happen. I think it takes a long time to generate cricketing culture especially amongst black people. It might take 10 to 20 years. It is going to take a lot longer than the people think. I am pleased that the progress has been fantastic and, hopefully, for the years to come we will have on merit a fully mixed team."

After a forgettable last year, which was stricken by match-fixing allegations, Gary is proud of the fact that the post-Cronje period has been unbelievably good.

"I had doubts in my mind about how we would cope with the change, but Shaun Pollock has done a marvelous job as skipper. I know we still have a way to go, we have to keep performing at our peak if we want to accomplish our goal of being the best cricket-playing nation in the world."

To get there, though, he believes they need to perform a lot better.

"We need to get some up-and-coming fast bowlers to replace the void that will be left by Allan Donald. I think we have some of them in sight right now -- Mfuneko Ngam and Nantie Hayward are two terrific young bowlers and though they are not in the current series, I think they are the future of South African cricket."

Kirsten is glad that he has played at the top of for so long and to the best of his ability. The number 100 stays a very alluring number for the southpaw.

"I have just one personal goal left, and that is to get to 100 Tests. I'm a good 22, 23 games away from that target; and if I do achieve that, I will retire a happy man."

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