Bat and ball / Andrew Hughes / 01 October 2008 / Leave a comment

As Darren Gough calls it a day in professional cricket, Andrew Hughes looks back at the career and achievements of one of English cricket's most entertaining and colourful characters.

Last month, at the age of thirty-eight, Darren Gough announced his retirement from first-class cricket. For a fast bowler, particularly one as whole-hearted as Gough to have lasted so long is a credit to his determination and love for the sport. That he continued to stick his chest out and bustle in for his home county long after his international career was over is another indication of his irrepressible enthusiasm and commitment.

Had it not been for injury, he would certainly have won nearer a hundred than the fifty-eight Test caps he finished with. A string of knee injuries, misdiagnosis and rushed returns took a heavy toll and forced him to retire from Test cricket during the South Africa series of 2003. He continued to be an important part of the one-day set-up but his 2005 appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, having refused to tour Pakistan and India didn't help his prospects and he played his last international in the summer of 2006.

Yet to finish your career as your country's highest one-day international wicket taker and second only to Ian Botham in the combined wicket taking lists, is a pretty impressive record. His early swashbuckling performances with the bat had pundits purring about the emergence of a new Botham, but that was never realistic, as his technique belonged more to the village green than the Test arena. But as a bowler, the stats don't lie; he was up there with the best.

His explosion onto the international scene gave all England cricket supporters something to smile about in the doldrums of the mid-nineties. And whilst his feckless and less talented teammates drifted in and out of form, he always gave his best and continued to develop as a bowler. The Gough who spear-headed England's remarkable performances in Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2000-01 was a far more rounded bowler than the youngster who had steamed in at Sydney on his first Ashes tour in 1994-95.

Short for a quick bowler, his powerful build sometimes gave the false impression that he was carrying a little extra weight. It also meant he couldn't rely on bounce or that short of a length delivery that a Flintoff or Harmison could fall back upon. Instead, he became a master of changes of pace and in particular, reverse swing. His yorkers in the closing overs of a one day game were deadly and his technical variations enabled him to be as successful on the featherbeds of Karachi as the green wickets of Headingley.

And he brought more than skill to the game. His ebullient, irrepressible personality was an asset to an England team often hangdog and bedraggled in appearance. Nothing, it appeared, could get Gough down. A classic example came in the Edgbaston Test of 1997. Having bowled Greg Blewett off a no-ball, a lesser man would have let it get to him. Gough merely smiled, steamed in next ball and had him caught at slip. His celebrity status has perhaps rankled with certain people at times and it is no secret that his former Yorkshire captain David Byas didn't get on with him. But his return to his home county in 2007 was welcomed by the dressing room and he has done much to rebuild team spirit there.

We haven't seen the last of him, of course. Coaching was never going to be on the agenda, although his captaincy of Yorkshire has revealed him as an understanding man-manager and his knowledge of the game is second to none. He is destined for a more high-profile retirement. Having already hosted a Radio Five phone in show this summer, we can expect further media outings and the lure of playing cricket, any cricket is likely to keep him returning to the field of play as long as his knee can support him. He is scheduled to appear in a beach cricket tournament in the West Indies during the Stanford tournament next month. And there is even talk of an IPL contract, a competition that would only be enhanced by his star quality.