Now Gibbs ponders the Kolpak route

New Delhi: From the moment he made his provincial debut in Cape Town as a brash 16-year-old schoolboy, Herschelle Gibbs has strutted his abundant talents. It is this self-assured streak that has made him the world-class player he is - loaded with the ego that has paraded a prize-fighter image eager to attract the big money, a few dubious friends have worked on his often dysfunctional traits and human weaknesses.

The Hansie Cronje episode asking him to under-perform during the Indian tour of 2000, still rankle with some, yet explains how his psyche is susceptible to clever manipulation by others such as Cronje.

Now Gibbs has been linked to a dressingroom campaign for him to become Glamorgan's first Kolpak signing, and is not surprising as it seems. Not with recent developments that have him rethinking his future career moves and longer-term plans.

Apart from a pending divorce case on August 1, which includes demands for a huge alimony payment from his soon to be ex-wife Tenielle, there are growing questions about his international career.

The Welsh county have been perennial stragglers - struggling to compete in a ruthless county system that has seen them all too often languishing on the lower rungs in the various competitions.

They want to show that they can cut it in the big league as well and Gibbs is seen as big number to help them achieve this aim. He is big on strokeplay and it is his flamboyance on the field that can maybe even inspire some youngsters.

But at 34 his international career has hit a brick wall. He is not in the South African Test side that is touring England currently. And his axing from the Proteas stung him into agreeing to becoming Glamorgan's overseas player in place of Jason Gillespie.

Now the hard word is out that he can become a Kolpak number and join the legion of South Africans and former Protea players in the county game. Open up a county page on the internet these days and count the number of past Test and limited overs internationals plying their trade is frightening, the number already signed on exceeds 50.

For a start the money is good. And in many respects, the Kolpak route has rescued the careers of talented South African players at a time the quota numbers system is being used to get shot of players such as Gibbs, although ironically he is seen as a quota, a tag he rejects.

For Gibbs, the Kolpak deal with Glamorgan, if it comes off will stretch his career for another couple of years at least and ease his financial burden.

Tenielle Gibbs, whom he married in the West Indies during last year's World Cup, is claiming as much as US$12 000 a month alimony to fund the "lavish lifestyle to which I have become accustomed".

In terms of South African money that (it works out to 96 950 in rands) is more than even the chairman of the reserve bank can command for a monthly income.

While Ms Gibbs, a beauty therapist and model denied she was a 'gold digger', she did admit to enjoying the 'lavish life style' that would set her up for life.

"He asked for the divorce," she claimed in Cape Town earlier this week. "This was his decision, not mine."

Gibbs had broken the news to her when he arrived back from India after the Indian Premier League commitments.

It is against this background that his Kolpak story adds a new twist to a career which has as the lasting memory that bungled Steve Waugh catch at Leeds in the 1999 World Cup.

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