Cape Town times: Gary Kirsten turns back the clock

Sunday MiD DAY catches up with India coach Gary Kirsten at Cape Town, where he grew up surrounded by some of the greats in South African cricket

Cape Town times: Gary Kirsten turns back the clock

Sunday MiD DAY catches up with India coach Gary Kirsten at Cape Town, where he grew up surrounded by some of the greats in South African cricket

But this time around, the change in the Gary Kirsten's behaviour is quite noticeable. He is more relaxed; more warm. To put it simply, he is at home.

Once an appointment is fixed for a meeting, Kirsten ensures to call you if there is a change in venue or time.

"It's always nice to come home to Cape Town," Kirsten tells SUNDAY MiD DAY during a chat at a cafe close to the Newlands ground.

Ask him to roll back the years and he talks of only one destination Newlands.u00a0 "I was very fortunate that I came from a cricketing family. My dad was a grounds administrator at Newlands and we used to live on the ground premises. As a kid, I used to boast about having the biggest backyard in the world. I used to play my garden cricket on the hallowed turf of Newlands, so I was very fortunate.

India coach Gary Kirsten at his academy at the Claremont Cricket Club in Cape Town. PIC/SANJJEEV K SAMYAL
Always involved

"I was very much involved in a cricket environment on a day-to-day basis so I have played cricket from the age of three to four. To have friends and family connected to sports was a great bonus."

The Indian Premier League games have brought him back to the Newlands ground, and the place strikes a chord in his heart. "I always enjoyed coming here. I used to love playing at Newlands. I was just chatting to some of the Indian players and they loved playing here too. The ground has changed a little but it's a great setting, great place to play cricket, great location, fantastic view of the mountain, a fantastic Test match venue."

Given this background, it was certain that Kirsten would make his mark in cricket. Looking back, he has certainly made most of the opportunities. The left-handed opener went on to play 101 Tests and held almost all South Africa batting records when he retired (Jacques Kallis has overtaken most of them now).

Talking about the advantage of living at a Test venue, Kirsten said: "I had a great facility to practice on. I had lots of conversations with other cricketers, especially the senior ones of that time and got to learn about how to play. I was around people connected to cricket all the time. So, it helped me in my development."

Inspiration

"We were in isolation and weren't playing international cricket in those days, so I used to aspire to do what the players of Western Province were doing. My brother Peter Kirsten was there, then we had Allan Lamb, who went on to play international cricket for England, Garth Le Roux was a great fast bowler. Eddie Barlow was part of that set-up too," Kirsten says about his early role models.

His best moment at Newlands came against India in a Test during the 1996-97 series. It was Kirsten's debut home game and his hundred contributed greatly to South Africa's win. "Well, it was an unbelievable game of cricket. There were five centuries scored in the game. It was the famous match in which Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin shared a double century stand. Both got hundreds. It was a great occasion," said Kirsten.

Kirsten now lives in Claremont, near Newlands. After finishing with the Indian team, he plans to set up an international cricket academy.u00a0 "We are in the process of building an academy in Cape Town at Claremont Cricket Club. Before I started with the Indian team, I ran my own academy here. "

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