Each run that Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden make this summer, and they've already collected quite a few, will push Michael Slater further into the heart of cricket darkness. These are unhappy times if you're a Slater fan. The exuberant strokeplay and that passionate kiss with the helmet crest on completing a hundred are sights to savour, not easily replaced. But those with a sneaking weakness for the renegade now have another pin-up boy. Herschelle Herman Gibbs has been scoring runs at a Graeme Pollock-like clip over the past year and what's more, he's got more rebel yells in his throat than Slater ever did. At his brilliant best, Slater was never quite as unorthodox as Gibbs - there was something for the purist even in the midst of untold destruction.

Gibbs, by contrast, is a unique combination of neurosurgeon and baseball slugger. Two strokes today illustrated that dichotomy. The first was a delivery from Javagal Srinath that pitched fractionally outside off stump. Gibbs just leant back and casually eased it past cover to the boundary. There was hardly any power in the stroke, just a turn of the wrist and placement so immaculate that the fielder didn't bother to move.

The second shot would have done a Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds proud. Srinath pitched short and a baseball swing sent the ball thudding - one bounce - into the advertising boards at midwicket. A few overs later, Gibbs did much the same thing to Harbhajan Singh, only this time the ball sailed over the rope.

Today, his customary aggression was tempered by a wait-and-watch approach. At no stage did he look comfortable against Harbhajan but he gritted his teeth and ground his heels in. There were a few mistimed strokes and edges to third man, a few missed heartbeats too. But after a while, he had gained in confidence to such an extent that he was paddle-sweeping Harbhajan and Kumble from outside off stump with minimal fuss.

So while we mourn the possible sunset of Slater's career, we have another virtuoso to entertain us. The old military manuals deal in depth with the threat posed by heavy artillery and the measures you need to take to nullify it. There are no contingency plans for loose cannons though. Maybe that's why Gibbs and Slater are so much fun to watch: you never know where the next shell will go.

Dileep Premachandran is an assistant editor with Wisden.com in India.

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