Gibbs never mixed freely with team members: Arthur

Published>Wed, Nov 03 10 07:06 PM

Sydney, Nov 3 (IANS) Mickey Arthur Wednesday called Herchelle Gibbs a 'bit of a loner' and dismissed the opener's claims in his autobiography that skipper Graeme Smith had too much power when he was the coach of the South African cricket team.

Arthur quit as coach of South Africa last January and now coaches Western Australia,

Arthur said that during his tenure Gibbs was hardly part of the side and had little idea what was happening within the team.

He said Gibbs never interacted with fellow players and did not have the best of relationship with Smith.

'He was a little bit of a loner, he sort of hung by himself, he never really mixed too freely with the rest of the group,' Arthur was quoted as saying in The Sydney Morning Herald.

'He certainly did not mix with Graeme at all and I guess there was a little barrier between the two there.'

Gibbs, in his autobiography 'To The Point', gives a deep account of how he and his team mates indulged in sex orgies, regular alcohol abuse and drug use on many cricket tours. He also accuses Smith of being too powerful in the team which led to divisions within the team.

'For the last three years of my time, Herschelle was in and out of the side, he was not there for most of the time,' Arthur said.

'I hope he has not burnt too many bridges.

'He would not know the conversations that Graeme and I had in private, he had no idea about the relationships between the management and the players because he was not privy to any of that.

'Herschelle was trying to salvage a career towards the back end, so he was trying anything,' Arthur said.

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