ut through determination and no little skill he turned himself into one of the best openers of his era. He made his debut in Australia in 1993-94, and in his second Test made typically understated contributions of 67 and 41 as South Africa won a Sydney classic by five runs. His first Test ton (110 against England in Atherton's match in Johannesburg) was two years and 17 Tests in coming, but Kirsten soon got a taste for the long innings - his 275 against England in Durban in 1999-2000 equalled the national record, and eight of his 21 Test centuries were scores of more than 150. He was also the first South African to make 5000 Test runs. After retiring, Kirsten spent some time with the Warriors as a consultant batting coach, and in 2006 set up his own academy in Cape Town. In December 2007 he signed a deal to coach India and during his reign the team moved up to No. 1 in the Test rankings for the first time and also won the 2011 World Cup, after which he quit the side and took charge of South Africa.
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