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 | | You are in: In Depth: West Indies v South Africa |
| |  Tuesday, 15 May, 2001, 12:10 GMT 13:10 UK Herschelle's fall from grace  Gibbs made an impression in the West Indies After Herschelle Gibbs is fined for smoking cannabis, BBC Sport Online traces the career of the flamboyant South African. Herschelle Gibbs' latest indiscretion has further dulled the lustre of what promised to be a glittering cricketing career. His admission that he smoked marijuana, along with four other members of the squad and physiotherapist Craig Smith, comes hard on the heels of his match-fixing suspension. He revealed that he had agreed to accept money to play badly in a one-day international against India when quizzed during the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal. But the 27-year-old opener has been at the centre of controversy before, following his fateful dropped catch against Australia in the 1999 World Cup.
He also received a fine for partying into the early hours before a one-day international, and was revealed last year as the father of a young boy. The suspended three-match ban for breaching the partying misdemeanour could now see him facing another period away from the cricket field. After his six-month ban for his part in the match-fixing madness ended, Gibbs would have thought he was no longer going to spend time on the sidelines. A precocious talent, Gibbs made his Western Province debut at the tender age of 16 and soon established himself as an attacking stroke player with a good claim to a place in the national side. He was also a coloured cricketer in a sport dominated by whites, and as such helped fulfil the United Cricket Board's commitment to create a more racially-inclusive team.
He claimed his maiden one-day century against the West Indies in January 1999 and finally conquered his natural impetuousness to record his maiden Test ton against New Zealand in March of the same year. His performances earned him an automatic place in South Africa's World Cup squad. But it was his blunder - a crucial dropped catch in the Super Six match against Australia - that threw Steve Waugh's side the lifeline that would eventually lead them to the world title.
The umpires ruled that he did not have full control of the ball. Australia survived to beat South Africa in the last four and thrash Pakistan in the final. He recovered to play an important role in South Africa's Test series and one-day victories over England last year and looked set to enjoy a long tenure at the top of the game. But in April 2000, Gibbs was charged with match-fixing by Delhi police, along with Cronje, Pieter Strydom, Henry Williams and Nicky Boje. Late night shenanagins He was in hot water with the UCB again when he admitted being out at a nightclub until 3am the night before South Africa's second one-day international against Australia in Cape Town in April last year. He was fined 5000 rand and banned for three matches. All but a third of the fine was subsequently suspended on condition that Gibbs was not found guilty of a similar offence. Now because of his dalliance with 'dagga' - the South African term for marijuana - he could be on the outer once more. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Other top West Indies v South Africa stories: Links to top West Indies v South Africa stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||
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