Darren Gough

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Darren Gough England (Eng)
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling type	Right arm fast medium
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	58	157
Runs scored	855	590
Batting average	12.57	12.55
100s/50s	0/2	0/0
Top score	65	46
Overs bowled	1970.1	1340.0
Wickets	229	235
Bowling average	28.39	26.11
5 wickets in innings	9	2
10 wickets in match	0	N/A
Best bowling	6/42	5/44
Catches/stumpings	13/0	25/0
As of 14 August 2006 Source: Cricinfo.com

Darren Gough (born September 18, 1970, Monk Bretton, Barnsley, Yorkshire) is an English cricketer. He was arguably England's best pace bowler since Bob Willis. Darren has taken 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him England's eighth most successful wicket taker.

Gough is a right arm fast medium bowler and right handed batsman. 5' 11" and broad in beam, he achieves his pace from a good approach to the wicket and a beautiful, leaping sideways-on action, achieving what is often described as "skiddy" fast bowling.

He played county cricket for Yorkshire for 15 years before moving to Essex in 2004 due mainly to family reasons.

He was first selected for the England cricket team in 1994, playing both Test and one-day international cricket. He made an impact as a bowler and as a tail-end batsman, and the media, as is usual with practically any aggressive England all-rounder, quickly dubbed him the "new Botham". Like most such pretenders to that throne, he did not fully ascend to such lofty heights, but his continued presence in the England team became a vital one in both personality and play. Memorable highlights of his Test career included taking the 23rd hat-trick in Test cricket against Australia at Sydney in 1999. His only first class century came against Warwickshire in 1996 at Headingley.

He retired from Test cricket in 2003 after a knee injury threatened to end his career, having taken 229 wickets with a bowling average of 28.39. He has continued playing one-day international cricket, and became the first Englishman to take 200 wickets in one-day cricket in September 2004. In January 2005, he played for the World XI in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal one-day international versus the Asian XI.

Gough asked not to be considered for selection for England's tour of Pakistan in October–December 2005 so that he could spend more time with his family. Selectors were content with his decision until it was discovered that he had signed up to take part in the BBC television show Strictly Come Dancing, which he subsequently won with his dancing partner Lilia Kopylova. Gough noted that this would keep him fit whilst allowing him to spend the winter with his family and, visibly at least, had the support of his England colleagues. He still harbours ambitions to play in the 2007 World Cup, despite warnings from selectors that he may now have difficulty in regaining his spot in the one-day team.

He was subsequently omitted from the ODI party to tour India in February and March 2006, prompting renewed speculation that his career was at an end. However, he was named as a member of the ODI squad to play Pakistan in August 2006, playing two ODIs and one Twenty20 International before a shin injury forced him to withdraw from the team. Cricket writer Tim de Lisle claimed in a column for Cricinfo that after this, "[Gough's] international career [was] all but over".^[1]

[edit] Trivia

In 2005 Darren Gough was winner of the BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing with his partner Lilia Kopylova and went on to win the subsequent Christmas Special.

[edit] External link

• Player Profile: Darren Gough from Cricinfo
• Internet Movie Database

[edit] References

1. ^ Going, going ... Gough by Tim de Lisle, retrieved 6 September 2006

Englishmen with 100 or more ODI caps
Alec Stewart 170 | Darren Gough 157* | Graham Gooch 125 | Allan Lamb 122 | Graeme Hick 120 | Marcus Trescothick 120*
Ian Botham 116 | David Gower 114 | Andrew Flintoff 105* | Paul Collingwood 103* | Phillip DeFreitas 103 | Nick Knight 100

Preceded by Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett

Strictly Come Dancing Champion (with partner Lilia Kopylova) Series 3 (2005)

Succeeded by N/A: Most recent See:Strictly Come Dancing (Series 4)