Gibbs' sixes bowler faces unemployment after World Cup

FRIGATE BAY, St Kitts, Mar 17 (Reuters) As if being hit for six sixes by South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs was not depressing enough, Dutch leg spinner Daan van Bunge is facing imminent unemployment after the World Cup.

''I'm doing a bit of club coaching, but after the tournament I'll be looking for a job,'' Van Bunge said in an interview with Reuters today.

Gibbs launched Van Bunge's offerings high over the short boundaries of tiny Warner Park in a Group A match that South Africa went on to win by 221 runs in Basseterre, St Kitts yesterday.

The South African became only the third man in elite cricket to hit six sixes and the first in a World Cup match.

'GOOD HITTING' Van Bunge, though, was not dispirited by the mauling he took.

''You could moan and groan and cry about it,'' he said. ''But the only way to deal with it is to have a little laugh about it.

''It's happened, and I can't do anything about it. In fact, it was good hitting, it was quite nice.'' Van Bunge said Gibbs had offered his commiserations after the match.

''He came to me afterwards, he was laughing and said I shouldn't worry about it because the boundaries were so short,'' Van Bunge said. ''We had a laugh about it and that's the way it should be.'' Gibbs celebrated his feat by partying into the small hours of this morning in some of St Kitts' festive beach bars.

There was a prelude to the bumper over at the Netherlands net practice the previous day.

''Funnily enough the day before at training, (Dutch captain) Luuk van Troost and I had a US bet going that he (Gibbs) wouldn't hit me for six,'' Van Bunge said. ''He didn't hit me for six once.'' Van Bunge said time seemed to speed up during his nightmare over.

''The ball came back quite quickly each time, so there wasn't much time for me to realise what was going on,'' he said.

''After the first six I tried to bowl it in the block hole a couple of times and the first three balls came out quite nicely, actually.

''But we all know he's a class player, and he's quite explosive.

''With the last three balls, it didn't come out the way I wanted.

''I spoke to Peter Borren, who was fielding at cover, and he said I should take the pace off it. Luuk van Troost said I should try and bowl a quicker one.

''I've talked about it a lot with my team mates since the end of the match, and now they're giving me all sorts of advice.

''Maybe it would have helped if they did that during the game.'' Van Bunge, a strapping 26-year-old who weighs 100 kilogrammes and stands 1.88 metres tall, knows how Gibbs must feel. As a member of the MCC Young Cricketers' XI he hammered a 38-ball century against Surrey under-19 at Weybridge.

''I've dished it out in the past, now I've been on the receiving end,'' he said.

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