Gone, but not forgotten

by Andrew Miller05-Aug-2003Gone, but not forgotten. Andrew Miller tracks the highs – and some of the lows – of Darren Gough’s nine years as a Test cricketer.Test No. 1 – v New Zealand, Old Trafford 1994
It is typical that a character as exuberant as Darren Gough should jump in at the deep end of Test cricket and make as big a splash as possible. His buccaneering and fearless performance at Old Trafford was the most uplifting debut by an England player since the days of Ian Botham and David Gower. He puffed out his chest and wound up his followthrough to clatter a wonderful 65 in an unlikely 130-run partnership with Phil DeFreitas, then bounded in and blew Mark Greatbatch from the crease in a barrage of bouncers in his first over. He finished that first innings with figures of 4 for 47, and there was no looking back.Test No. 4 – v South Africa, The Oval 1994
Gough had taken eight wickets in the first Test at Lord’s, a rare highlight in a depressing defeat for England, but in the decisive third Test he was once again in the thick of the action … with the bat. England were staring down the barrel at 222 for 7 when Gough joined DeFreitas for their second vital stand of the summer. Gough’s 42 not out in a partnership of 70 reignited England’s challenge, and paved the way for Devon Malcolm’s unforgettable assault in the second innings. Malcolm took the plaudits for his 9 for 57, but Gough landed the one that got away – Daryll Cullinan, who top-scored for South Africa with a fine 94.Test No. 7 – v Australia, Sydney 1994-95
The match that confirmed Gough as a superstar of world cricket, even though his heroics couldn’t quite secure England a series-salvaging victory. England had been slaughtered in the opening two Tests of the series, and were in an equally unpromising position in the third, when Gough’s whirling blade once again came to the rescue. His seat-of-the-pants 51 transformed an innings for the third time in his brief career, as the unlikely trio of Gough, Angus Fraser and Devon Malcolm added 112 for the last three wickets. But that was just the start. Gough followed up with 6 for 49 as Australia were bundled out for 116, and it required a determined rearguard from Mark Taylor and Michael Slater to salvage the match for the Aussies. By this stage of his career, Gough was averaging 34.85 with the bat and was being talked of – without irony – as the next Ian Botham. The pundits were half-right.Test No. 8 – v West Indies, Headingley 1995
A cruel foot injury had curtailed Gough’s Ashes campaign, but his comeback Test, in front of his beloved Yorkshire crowd, was an eagerly anticipated event. Unfortunately, it was also a terrible anticlimax for Gough. His first ball, from Ian Bishop, was hooked belligerently into the hands of Curtly Ambrose at fine leg, and he managed only five overs in the match before limping off with a side strain.Test No. 12 – v South Africa, Johannesburg, 1995-96
Not a happy match for bowlers, as Mike Atherton and Jack Russell saved England’s bacon with their immense partnership at the Wanderers. And Gough was no exception. He returned match figures of 0 for 116, and Raymond Illingworth did not pick him for another Test all tour. Astonishingly, he was also overlooked for the entire of the following summer.Test No. 16 – v New Zealand, Wellington, 1996-97
Respite for England, and Mike Atherton in particular, following a grim tour of Zimbabwe. And the first glimpse of a bowling partnership that would carry England to unaccustomed heights in the coming years. Gough and Andrew Caddick shared the spoils as New Zealand were blown away for 124 in their first innings, and Gough returned with a further four scalps in the follow-on for matchwinning figures of 9 for 92.Test No. 18 – v Australia, Edgbaston, 1997
At last, success against the Aussies for Gough, as England launched the 1997 Ashes series with a stunning victory at Edgbaston. Gough’s six wickets in the match were a vital part of England’s achievement, but more important than that was the spirit he brought to the team. One passage of play summed up his contribution. After bowling Greg Blewett with a no-ball, most bowlers would have sunk to their knees in exasperation. Not Gough. He merely grinned, returned to his mark, and immediately had Blewett caught at slip, as Australia slumped to 118 all out.Test No. 26 – v South Africa, Headingley, 1998
As one of life’s winners, Gough had remarkably little to show for it, until he applied the finishing touch to England’s fightback against South Africa in 1998. After a disappointing year, in which he had had to pull out of the tour of the Caribbean with the first of his many knee injuries, it was fourth time lucky for Gough in front of his home crowd, as he picked up nine wickets including a career-best 6 for 42 in the second innings. The finish was pure theatre. With the series locked at 1-1, it all came down to the final morning. South Africa needed 34 for victory, England needed two wickets. But Gough bounded in and settled the match within 28 minutes, as England won a five-Test series for the first time in 11 years.Tests No. 30 & 31 – v Australia, Melbourne and Sydney, 1998-99
The back-to-back Christmas and New Year Tests provided two of the most memorable Ashes battles of the decade, and Gough was at his irrepressible best in both. At Melbourne, he first kept England in touch after a poor batting performance, with a first-innings haul of 5 for 94, then applied the coup de grace to a spectacular Australian collapse in their second innings, with two inswinging yorkers in four balls to dispatch the tail and secure a memorable 12-run victory.That was just the prelude, however, to Gough’s most memorable achievement in Oz – a magnificent hat-trick in the fifth Test at Sydney. If the calibre of his victims was ordinary, then the manner of their dismissals could not have been bettered. Ian Healy was startled by a rearing lifter which he gloved to the keeper; Stuart MacGill had his middle stump uprooted by the perfect yorker; and, best of all, Colin Miller was bowled neck-and-crop by a Wasim-esque outswinging yorker that seemed to move six ways from Sunday before taking the off stump. Michael Slater survived a controversial run-out to make a second-innings century, which ensured that Gough’s final Test Down Under would end in defeat, but his respect had been secured.Test No. 40 – v West Indies, Lord’s 2000
Gough’s five wickets in the first Test hadn’t been able to stave off an innings defeat at Edgbaston, and England were in the last-chance saloon if their dreams of winning back the Wisden Trophy were to be fulfilled after a 32-year hiatus. Gough did his bit with the ball, taking 4 for 72 in the first innings, but it was his extraordinary catch in the deep off Caddick that changed the course of England’s recent history. England trailed by a hefty 133 on first innings, but when Sherwin Campbell uppercut Caddick towards the third man boundary, Gough leapt to his right and clung onto an inspirational catch. West Indies were blown away for 54 in their second innings, and in an excruciatingly tight finish, Gough then showed the more measured side to his game, scoring 4 not out from 19 balls in support of Dominic Cork, who inched England to victory by two wickets.Test No. 42, v West Indies, Headingley 2000
The day England all but secured the Wisden Trophy, as Gough and Caddick combined to rout West Indies inside two days. Gough had done a pretty good job in the first innings as West Indies slipped to 172 all out, and England’s first-innings lead of 100 looked like being a handy advantage. In fact, it was more than that. Gough started the West Indian rot with four wickets in five overs, before Caddick trumped him with as many in a single over of mayhem. West Indies slumped to 61 all out and an innings defeat, and England had taken a decisive lead in the series.Test No. 46, v Pakistan, Karachi 2000-01
The great Dennis Lillee managed three wickets in his entire career on the soul-destroying featherbeds of the subcontinent. Gough, now at the pinnacle of his game, managed twice that in a single match, as England became the first side ever to topple Pakistan in their favourite stadium in Karachi. They did so in spectacular fashion, chasing 176 in near-darkness, but without Gough’s tireless improvisation, including 3 for 30 in Pakistan’s second innings, they might never have had the opportunity.Test No. 48 & 49, v Sri Lanka, Kandy and Colombo 2000-01
The mightiest performance of Gough’s career. England had been routed in the oppressive heat of Galle, but bounced back supremely to level the series at Kandy. Gough was head-and-shoulders above his colleagues, picking up eight wickets on a pitch as unresponsive to fast bowling as might be expected of Muttiah Muralitharan’s home turf.He was equally impressive in the final, series-clinching, Test at Colombo, where his three second-innings wickets helped to bundle Sri Lanka out for 81, the third double-figure score made against England in ten Tests. Gough’s total of 14 wickets earned him the Man of the Series award, and the eternal gratitude of his captain, Nasser Hussain.Test No. 50, v Pakistan, Lord’s 2001
It had always been a bone of some contention for Gough that he had failed to make it onto the honours board at Lord’s in five attempts. At the sixth time of asking, however, he made no mistake at all, and celebrated his 50th Test in effervescent fashion. In addition, Gough had entered the match needing three more wickets to join the exclusive 200 club. He duly dispatched Rashid Latif to bring up that milestone, then picked up two more wickets in the same over to land the five-for. Pakistan were thumped by an innings, and England’s Ashes summer was off to the perfect start. It didn’t last, however …Test No. 55, v Australia, Headingley 2001
Another five-wicket haul on his home ground, but this was not a happy occasion for Gough, for whom the prospect of Ashes glory had once again been extinguished – inside 11 days of actual playing time. He did at least have the pleasure of being part of a winning side, thanks to Mark Butcher’s once-in-a-lifetime 173 not out, but had it not been for rain and Adam Gilchrist’s generous declaration, England would surely have finished the match 4-0 down.Test No. 58, v South Africa, Lord’s 2003
Gough has made a career out of bubbling through adversity, and the fact that he managed to make a comeback to Test cricket after a chronic knee injury was completely against all predictions. He deserved better, simply for the chutzpah he had shown, but after a solitary wicket in two Tests, it was all too clear that he had lost that magic touch. He retired with a final tally of 229 Test wickets in 58 matches, but his impact on English cricket has transcended mere figures.