5 top South African Test opening pairs of all time

#4 Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs (1998-2002)

Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten of South Africa pile on the runs

Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs had contrasting styles and methods. Kirsten didn’t show any sort of flamboyance and had a solid technique while Gibbs, on the other hand, was an explosive and aggressive opener. However, both of them complemented each other very well as they combined to form a very good opening partnership.

They started off as an opening pair against West Indies in December 1998 and registered single digit partnerships in both innings, but came back strongly and put on 57 and 97 in the two innings to help South Africa win the Boxing Day Test. In 2001, they put on three consecutive century stands (twice against Zimbabwe and once against India). The first of these was their highest (256) and both of them struck centuries in that game.

Even in their last game as an opening pair, they forged a match-winning opening stand. Chasing 340, Kirsten and Gibbs put on 142 in the fourth innings against Australia and South Africa built on the start and won the game. With 2283 runs in 52 innings, the Kirsten-Gibbs duo is placed second on the most runs by a South African opening pair.