Herschelle Gibbs has never found himself far from controversy, both on and off the pitch, so it's of no surprise then that his autobiography, To The Point, is littered with incidents that are both shocking and cringe-worthy.

Gibbs is unfazed by relating tales of heavy drinking and womanising. In fact, he summarises a chapter called 'The Good Times' in two words: women and booze, with the 1997/98 tour to Australia a particular 'highlight' on this front. Indeed, more time is dedicated to relaying such escapades than on any one cricket-related issue.

To Gibbs' credit, he doesn't try and portray himself as any kind of upstanding citizen. He readily admits to drinking incredibly heavily - both before and after games. His stint in rehab, lack of fatherly care in the early part of his son's life and a physical confrontation with his then wife fetch telling page space too.

It's clear that Gibbs has lived his life without fear, indulging his extroverted nature and passion for entertaining at all times. While these character traits have landed him in trouble far too often, they are also the basis of the flair that has made him the incredible (yet inconsistent) batsman he is.

It's a point that the South African goes to great lengths to try and explain; he's an instinctive man, his game comes naturally, and his personality means he has a penchant for heavy partying and little time for settling down. Unfortunately this often means that Gibbs comes across as nothing more than a boy who never grew up.

Peeling away the initial layers of personal exploration, Gibbs addresses on-field events and controversies, and having been part of the Proteas set-up for so many years he certainly has quite a few to relay.

He provides interesting insight into his involvement in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga. From the spontaneous decision to be involved in the scam to the fear of being caught, which saw him bail out, to the King Commission hearings and ban that followed - it all makes for interesting reading.

The same can be said for the incident in which Gibbs and other team-mates were disciplined for smoking weed in the Caribbean. For the most part he refrains from harshly criticising any of his fellow players, but the 36-year-old doesn't hold back in his criticism of Darryl Cullinan - the alleged whistleblower in the weed affair. In a sense it smacks of hypocrisy. Gibbs crucifies Cullinan for exposing the incident but has no problem with breaking the 'what happens on tour stays on tour' code by which professional sportsmen tend to live by.

For fans of the game itself, To The Point is fairly thin on the subject of cricket, even the magical innings in the '438 game' is explained as much in terms of overcoming a severe hangover as in the intricacies of the innings itself. A discussion of the future of Test cricket, the Umpire Decision Review System and some of the greats of the games adds some meat to the book, but one always feels it's the off-field exploits that Gibbs is most interested in.

The most insightful aspect of To The Point is the examination of the 'chokers' tag that has long followed the Proteas. With three World Cups - three disappointing ones - to analyse, Gibbs explores a subject that, while widely discussed in the press, is rarely honestly discussed by the South African hierarchy.

As is the case with the current 'clique' in the Proteas set-up, comprising skipper Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and more recently AB de Villiers, and the power that they wield. It's an issue that has long interested the public, and it is for this reason that Gibbs says he chose to discuss it. The result is that Mickey Arthur is painted as Smith's mouthpiece and that the team has for some time lacked any form of unity. Gibbs will surely not have made any friends by expressing such sentiments.

This leads to perhaps the most frustrating fact of To The Point. In a discussion of his future plans, Gibbs admits he wants nothing more than a World Cup medal and that having recently signed a new national contract he is still in the frame for a Proteas spot. This seems unlikely now, though, with the book garnering widespread disdain from players and administrators alike. With this in mind one has to ask why release a no-holds-barred autobiography now. Perhaps in the future, but why now with the tournament just a few months away?

The book itself is littered with a few too many South Africa colloquialisms - 'so anyway', 'but ja', 'bladdy' - to make for smooth reading; the attempt to put the book in Gibbs' words simply becomes annoying at times.

To The Point doesn't lack talking points, that's what it sets out to create. Unfortunately after reading the book many people may remember Gibbs more for his apparent ability to drink like a fish and bed women at will than for the incredibly talented batsman he is.

Julia Harris