He infamously dropped the World Cup, in a manner of speaking - especially if the speaker was Steve Waugh. He also owned up to not reading a book, burnt his fingers in the unsavoury flames of match fixing, faced drunk driving charges and left a trail of acrid fumes of marijuana.
However, all through he remained a spectacular batsman and a breathtaking fielder. At the top of the order or in the middle, he could play those outrageous strokes. And he was spellbinding at cover point.
His style was tailor made for the One Day game, and the 175 off 111 balls that helped chase down 434 was testimony to that. However, he could be a devastating batsman, and often a very reliable one, in Test cricket as well.
Herschelle Gibbs was born on Feb 23, 1974
Text: Arunabha Sengupta
Illustration: Maha