Ray Jennings on Herschelle Gibbs: 'I am not anti-Herschelle ... I am anti poor cricket ethics and guys who are lazy. That is what flips my lid' © Getty Images

Ray Jennings, never short of a quote or two, has told Herschelle Gibbs to get his act together and be ready to face England in the Cape Town Test which starts on January 2.

Gibbs has been out of cricket with an injured finger, and he subsequently complained of burn-out and was rested by Western Province. Jennings was already annoyed that he had to go to India without Gibbs, who declined to tour because he feared being arrested by the Indian police, and his absence from his provincial side hardly helped his mood. "I was mystified why he was sitting out SuperSport Series games when he needed to be batting back to form," he said. "I need to have the Gibbs of 60 Tests to turn games because you cannot expect that of youngsters who have played only one or two Tests. This is what we lacked in India."

Jennings rates Gibbs, but he made it clear that he would only tolerate so much, stating that it was time he decided what his priorities were. "I need to make sure he achieves his goals," Jennings told the Cape Argus. "He can be the best batsman in the world but, unfortunately in the past, too many players have done it their way in the Proteas set-up. I am not anti-Herschelle; I am anti-poor cricket ethics and guys who are lazy. That is what flips my lid.

"When I look at what Herschelle has produced [in 2004] he should be embarrassed about it. People may think I'm hard on Herschelle, but my heart is in the right place. I know he can be the best batsman in the world and he can stay there for as long as he wants, but only he can decide how long.

"We have already seen class players like Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher drop out. I would not like to see that happen to Herschelle Gibbs."