I like this Man.

[Ram]

'If you can handle cricket, you can handle life' South Africa's grittiest customer on what the game has taught him Interview by Neil Manthorp My first taste of international cricket was when I travelled to Barbados as a backpacker in 1991 to watch South Africa's first Test after readmission. I slept on my brother Peter's hotel-room floor and gave throwdowns to the guys before each morning's play. I was barely in Cape Town University's first XI then, and hadn't even dreamed of playing international cricket, but that experience gave me all the desire I needed. When I first made the national team I was a very limited player and aware of my shortcomings. Kepler Wessels took me aside one day and said, "Gary, remember this. It doesn't matter how you look, it's just the total that people will remember." That gave me confidence and belief. I've often batted virtually from sunrise to sunset in the nets, to learn new shots, to get my feet in the right place and to drive straight, not through gully. But that's my job and it's the job of the people who buy tickets to be entertained. But a little understanding of our predicament, sometimes, is well appreciated. We are not machines. My greatest desire for the future of international cricket is that administrators understand the need for rest. Fast bowlers are the obvious example, but opening the batting is equally taxing - mentally more than physically. It wears you down. If the economy of world cricket can sustain the game for 12 months of the year, great, but players need to be rotated. Cricket occupies so much of your time that it's difficult to have a normal life - when you're playing and especially after you've finished. I'm hugely grateful to the Foundation for a Brighter Future for the passion I have found outside cricket. We try to give hope and meaning to the homeless street children of Cape Town. I laugh at myself, in public, at the style of my batting. I'm not a Herschelle Gibbs. I was never going to put bums on seats as a "flair" player. I know who I am, and I know there's no point pretending to be someone else. There have been a couple of "heroic" moments in my career, but I'm not a heroic kind of batsman so I don't mind if they are forgotten. When I was asked to reconsider my decision to retire, I felt flattered. My wife and I had delayed the start of a family and we both felt another couple of months wouldn't hurt. But I won't be away for months at a time when our children are growing up. That's very, very important. I don't mind if people don't remember me for anything in particular, except that I scored 6000-plus runs and gave my all, everything I had. I've worked very hard and tried to be humble in all circumstances, though I'm the first to order Cuban cigars and a drink when we win. Cricket really does reflect life. It gives you more bad and ordinary days than good ones, and if you can handle that then you can handle life. Even better, you can associate with, and help, people who've never even had the chance to experience what it was like, going to work in front of 70,000 at Eden Gardens or the MCG. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/343119.html ------------- This is the kind of guy I would want as my coach. Someone who came up the hard-way and overcame many shortcomings like limited talents to do well for my country. I think Dhoni and Kirsten will make an excellent combination.

[Kartikey]

The kind of guy who publicly blasted our country..................

[Lurker]

Cricket really does reflect life. It gives you more bad and ordinary days than good ones, and if you can handle that then you can handle life. Even better, you can associate with, and help, people who've never even had the chance to experience what it was like, going to work in front of 70,000 at Eden Gardens or the MCG.

Tell you the truth that comment surprised me a little bit. Sure as a person he has his own philosphies and I respect that but I am always wary of someone who beleives cricket puts as much pressure, if not more, than life. I much rather count on those players who beleive cricket pressure is nothing compared to what life throws at you, and hence dont let cricket dominate them. A good example would be the recent Indian team where Irfan Pathan famously said(after beating Australia) that bowling last over with 12 to get was not the hardest thing. Afterall he(Irfan) had seen his father struggle to put two square meal on the table, get his daughters married etc at a meagre salary. Bowling an over in International game doesnt even compare to that. That kind of atitude is what I personally appreciate. xxx

[Rajiv]

Tell you the truth that comment surprised me a little bit. Sure as a person he has his own philosphies and I respect that but I am always wary of someone who beleives cricket puts as much pressure, if not more, than life. I much rather count on those players who beleive cricket pressure is nothing compared to what life throws at you, and hence dont let cricket dominate them. A good example would be the recent Indian team where Irfan Pathan famously said(after beating Australia) that bowling last over with 12 to get was not the hardest thing. Afterall he(Irfan) had seen his father struggle to put two square meal on the table, get his daughters married etc at a meagre salary. Bowling an over in International game doesnt even compare to that. That kind of atitude is what I personally appreciate. xxx

..very true, but kirsten never flirted with that kinda life I suppose

[Predator_05]

The kind of guy who publicly blasted our country..................

:haha:

When Shane Warne toured India there was extensive coverage of the tins and tins of baked beans he said he needed to bring to India because he could not deal with the food here. The Australians also complained about playing in Delhi saying it was just too polluted. And now it turns out that Gary Kirsten, the front-runner for the position of Indian Coach was also very critical of the local conditions food and travel arrangements when he visited in 1996-97. The excerpts of his diary during a tour of India in 1996, which was published in South Africa and later reproduced in the Telegraph, read almost like a travel warning. Kirsten wrote, "62 days in a country where westernised living conditions are regarded a luxury, is no task for the faint-hearted. Socialising in India is pretty much hotel-bound, there are no real places to go out. It gets quite boring and tedious trying to occupy yourself. It is one of the rigours of touring India." "To spread cricket to all corners of India, we played in what could politely be classed as one-horse towns, places with more cows on the street than cars. A sense of humour is a necessity on this tour," he further wrote. "To expect teams to perform at consistently high levels when faced with such arrangements is absurd and unfair on the players," Kirsten added. While one could argue that these are 10-year old views and things and opinios would have changed since then. But the fact remains that the conditions continue to be tough for visitors from the West. So, is the board not worried that their chief coach might decide that travelling to one horse towns in India over two years is just too hard.

[suraj]

There are more lessons & hardships in life than in cricket; it can be a pressure game but you are getting heavily paid for it and getting worldwide recognition so Kirsten's philosphy sucks I would rather hear those statements from an armyman or a patient facing a big disease rather than a cricket player.

[THX_1138]

:haha:

if the quote is indeed from his diaries, then it is very polite, rather humorous and rather politik. i dont quite see the supposed inflammatory statement that would make some posters cringe. please acknowledge the fact that since he has assumed the position of the coach, he has been rather invisible. something the team does indeed need from its coach, a team of macho men who are in the limelight for adding an extra tablespoon of sugar to their morning tea would be at conflicts with a lesser humble man (as is evident from the past). moving on, the conditions in india in 1996 were very different from today, and even today, parts of rural india are unique to say the least.

[OriginalCopy]

I will start liking the man once I see some favorable results ... He's been hired to produce good results, and I'll reserve my judgement till I see some happy Indians after the matches.