HERSCHELLE Gibbs' slate has clearly been wiped clean. When I asked former Durham chairman Bill Midgley 18 months ago if Gibbs was the South African on standby to replace Martin Love, the answer was an emphatic "no".

Durham had let it be known that they had lined up a South African Test batsman as there was some doubt about Love's availability. When I suggested to Midgley if it wasn't Gibbs it must be Neil McKenzie he didn't deny it.

At the time Gibbs' reputation as one of the world's most exciting batsmen was still tarnished by the six-month suspension he was handed at the same time as Hansie Cronje was banned for life for match-fixing.

Gibbs told the King Commission that Cronje offered him £10,000 to score fewer than 20 runs in a one-day international against India in Nagpur. A similar offer was made to another non-white, Henry Williams, if his overs cost more than 50 runs.

The evidence on a tapped mobile phone which had been given to Cronje suggested that the offers had been accepted, and even though Gibbs scored 74 in the match and Williams was injured in his second over they both received six-month bans.

That was three years ago and while Williams has been forgotten, Gibbs has since established himself as an automatic choice in both Test and one-day cricket.

Durham have also taken his brilliant fielding into account, especially as Love is not the sharpest in this area now that he no longer wants to risk breaking fingers in the slips.

Gibbs was made available through an agent and Durham coach Martyn Moxon said: "We looked at the options and decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. We had to move quickly because other counties were interested.

"We spoke to him and he was interested in what we are trying to do in bringing on young players. He sees that as a challenge."

Durham's other overseas player will again be a bowler and Moxon said they were keeping in touch with Dewald Pretorius, while Shoaib Akhtar is not out of the frame.

DURHAM are giving serious consideration to signing West Indian all-rounder Gareth Breese after he took six wickets with his off-spin bowling in the second team's two-day win against Warwickshire at Seaton Carew.

Breese, who has played in one Test, has English parents and could be taken on as an EU-qualified player, which would seem to go against the grain as Durham's policy is to rear home-bred talent.

Coach Martyn Moxon said: "The time has come to move on. We have made progress, but we still have work to do and we have to try to kick on. If that means going down the EU route to strengthen an area where we have a weakness then we will do it.

"Others are interested in Breese, but we are still talking to him and we will try to get him another second team game."

Durham had also lined up trials for two South Africans, but one turned out not to be EU-qualified, while the other, left-arm spinner Anthony Botha, is leaning towards Sussex.

THE one consolation in Michael Kasprowicz's nine for 36 against Durham was that it expunged David Follett from the county's record books.

The Staffordshire-born seamer was scarcely heard of either before or after his eight for 22 against Durham at Lord's in 1996. Durham were all out for 67, which remains their lowest score in first-class cricket.

Middlesex obviously recognised Follett's performance as a one-off as they released him at the end of the season and he then spent three undistinguished years with Northants.

Kasprowicz makes a habit of demolishing Durham. He took six for 61 against them for Essex at Stockton in 1994 and had match figures of 11 for 105 at Riverside last year.

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