Together, Smith and Gibbs change rules of the game

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">MUMBAI:</span> Every era produces its enigmatic players. But for one team to have two and at the top of the batting order is unique. <br /><br />One is referring to the South African opening pair of Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith, who created a sensation with a 338-run stand in the first Test against England and followed it up with a 133-run stand in the Lord''s Test.<br /><br />There has never been a dull moment for this pair.They have had to battle for their rights. It is this fighting instinct that could explain their unusual bonding in a short span. They are the only pair to have two 300-plus opening stands. (Their first one was at Cape Town against Pakistan where they put on 369). Thus they could write a new chapter in opening partnerships. <br /><br />Gibbs is the exemplary prodigy of our times. He could have been a triple international - in cricket, rugby and soccer as he had the capacity to excel in all three sports having played them at top school-level competitions. A knee injury, though, made him stick to cricket.<br /><br />Gibbs has survived scandals (Cronjegate) and indiscretions (unwed fatherhood while at school), exceptional highs, depressing lows. As his biographer, Colin Bryden, notes: "He hasn''t been the wisest of young men but is learning from experiences. He has begun to believe in himself now."<br /><br />Among the admirers of Gibbs are the likes Shaun Pollock and Eric Simmons. Pollock, whose captaincy didn''t enamour Gibbs during the World Cup, admires "the way he has dealt with off-the-field issues that could have affected his career. He has shown he is a big man by putting those things behind him."<br /><br />Simmons once said, "Gibbs seemed amazed when we told him we thought he was one of the best in the world. It made me think that as much as we may admire people we often don''t tell them about it."<br /><br />Gibbs realised that he had to build an innings and how: "To play within myself and play stay nice and tight." Which obviously he has done in the past few days.<br /><br />Smith''s motivation stems from having to prove that leading a bunch of men older than him is no problem. He told a recent interviewer Neil Manthorp: "Some people said captaining Steve Elworthy was like captaining your dad, but he was fantastic and later, had some very kind things to say about me. I''ve always got on very well with older players, I don''t know why. I have lived my life a bit older than some guys, and most of my best mates are older than me." <br /><br />Smith, at 22, became the youngest skipper to score a Test hundred at Edgbaston and added another at Lord''s, back-to-back double hundreds.<br /><br />The lefthander has had problems not because of indiscretion but because he exudes passion and determination.<br /><br />In pursuit of his goals Smith wouldn''t care whose toes he treads on. Shaun Pollock, Sourav Ganguly and Lance Klusener have found this out. Smith''s first conflict was at the under-19 level. He had a little run-in with Jacques Rudolph, who now plays under him.<br /><br />Pollock experienced Smith''s competitiveness during a warm-up game he played on the eve of the World Cup. He didn''t walk when given out and they exchanged words. Ganguly was caught by Smith scuffing up the pitch at Dhaka with his studs. He took him on and his team backed him up. As he relates in an interview: "I had been told about Sourav''s tactic of being really nice and over-friendly when confronted about something he''s done and, sure enough, he started trying to be best buddies with Mark Boucher and some of the other guys - but they were having none of it. In fact, they went at him as hard as I had."<br /><br />As for Klusener, Smith openly doubted the allrounder''s team spirit and the selectors left him out of the England tour. This has provoked a legal battle.<br /><br />Smith has no clashes with teammates though. As he told South African journalist Neil Manthorp in a recent interview: "You only get problems if you leave things undecided, if you leave people unsure about what they should be doing and what is expected of them. If everyone knows how the captain wants to run things then they are more likely to respect you - and if a guy steps out of line then you can pull him back in."<br /><br />Smith enjoys the confrontational side of the game because of the passion and determination involved. <br /><br />"You are representing your countrymen, every one of them, against another nation. It''s huge. It''s massive. You''ve got to do all you can to get the upper hand. There''s going to be tension and aggression. There''s a pile of emotion. People are going to crack now and then. People must try to understand that." South Africa''s foes had better watch out for this tough firm of Gibbs and Smith.</div> </div>