THE life of the South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs has hit a crisis before his expected arrival to play for Glamorgan next summer with the news that he is to spend a month of rehabilitation for alcohol abuse at a clinic.

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His agent Donne Commins confirmed in the Cape Times newspaper that Gibbs was going to take "some time out" before his trial in March for alleged drunk driving in Cape Town.

Gibbs, 34, was recently divorced from his wife, with alcohol abuse cited in the case, and he was dismissed from South Africa's national squad in November for breaking a team curfew before a 20-overs one-day international against Bangladesh. Cricket South Africa said he would be having treatment for alcohol abuse.

Gibbs, a brilliant Western Province batsman and general sportsman, has been regarded as an amiable character easily led, a flaw that has landed him in trouble. He was found guilty of smoking marijuana with team-mates while on tour in the West Indies in 2001, and his name was dragged into the mud by the Hansie Cronje match-fixing revelations in 2001.

During the 2007 World Cup unnamed South African players were accused of drinking too much in Grenada after a defeat by New Zealand in a leaked fitness report by trainer Adrian le Roux. Cricket South Africa confirmed that they had held an official inquiry into drinking, and the chief executive Gerald Majola said it had been viewed “in a serious light”.

Majola added: “The inquiry, our findings and recommendations took place well before Adrian submitted his routine report after the World Cup. The players concerned know they let themselves and the team down on that occasion, and are now fully aware of what is expected of them at all times as professional cricketers representing their country.”

Gibbs is set to return to Glamorgan after a successful Twenty20 Cup stint last season. The club said he would bring to the club a "wealth of experience and expertise".