David Gower

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David Gower England (Eng)
Batting style	Left-handed batsman (LHB)
Bowling type	Off break
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	117	114
Runs scored	8231	3170
Batting average	44.25	30.77
100s/50s	18/39	7/12
Top score	215	158
Overs bowled	6	0.5
Wickets	1	0
Bowling average	20.00	-
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	N/A
Best bowling	1/1	0/5
Catches/stumpings	74/0	44/0
As of 9 August 1992 Source: Cricinfo.com

David Ivon Gower (born April 1, 1957) is a famous cricketer, former captain of the England side. He was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He spent much of his upbringing in Tanzania, however.

In 1975 he made his debut for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, for whom he played until 1989. From 1990 until 1993 he was with Hampshire.

Gower was an elegant left hand batsmen and has a reputation for being aloof, perhaps because of his privately educated background and upper-class accent and manner. Considered one of the finest English players to grace the field, his laconic style was often misinterpreted as indifference and a lack of seriousness. The same style led him to be one of the highest scoring batsmen in English history (the highest at the time of his retirement), and often resulted in big centuries, a fine example of which was his 157 in the 6th Ashes Test in the English summer of 1985. This was during his first period as captain, for which he had limited overall success. The Ashes series of 1985 was a highlight with his own batting including 3 scores in excess of 150.

In 1987 Gower declined to play in that year's Cricket World Cup as he did not wish to travel, having been on nine successive winter tours since his debut. He never again declined an opportunity to play for England, however. Yet rumours that Gower lacked seriousness gained currency in 1989 when as England Captain he walked out of a press conference claiming he had tickets for the theatre. Most controversially, during the 1991 Ashes Tour in Australia England were playing a warm up match in Queensland when Gower decided to take another player (John Morris) for a joy ride in a Tiger Moth biplane without telling the England Team management [1]. He was fined £1000 for the prank, a penalty that could have been steeper had he released the waterbombs he had also prepared. Gower added insult to injury by posing for press photographs with the planes the next day. England Captain Graham Gooch was enraged by the prank, as he was by Gower's mode of dismissal at a crucial stage of one of the Test matches. During the fourth Test at Adelaide, Gower walked out to the crease to the tune of Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. The last ball before lunch was bowled down the leg side to a leg trap, and all Gower needed to do was block. However, Gower flicked idly at the delivery and was caught at leg-slip. According to Michael Atherton in his autobiography, "Gooch was at the other end and as he walked off his face was thunderous". Gooch, it is widely believed, was instrumental in Gower being left out of the following tour of India. That selection decision prompted an extraordinary vote of no confidence in the selectors at the MCC, but it was to no avail as Gower was not included. He played one more season of county cricket for Hampshire, but in effect his international career was at a premature end at age 35, as England did not see fit to recall him during the 1993 Ashes series despite the heavy defeat they suffered and the threat posed by Shane Warne.

Since that time he has been a commentator throughout the world, and an advocate for endangered African wildlife. Perhaps the best summation of his batting talent comes from Clive Lloyd who noted that Gower would be an automatic selection in his West Indies team regardless. High praise indeed, and a recognition of a genuine match winner with the bat.

Career record	First-class	List A
Matches	448	430
Runs scored	26,339	12,255
Batting average	40.08	33.30
100s/50s	53/136	19/56
Top score	228	158
Balls bowled	260	20
Wickets	4	0
Bowling average	56.75	-
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	N/A
Best Bowling	3/47	-
Catches/Stumpings	280/1	162/0
As of 3 July 2005 Source: [2] Edit this template

Since leaving the game, Gower has enjoyed a new career as a cricket broadcaster and television personality, including being one of the team captains on the popular BBC comedy sports quiz, They Think It's All Over from 1995 till 2003. He also presented four series of the popular BBC2 cricket magazine show, Gower's Cricket Monthly from 1995 - 1998 and, at the same time was one of the BBC's main cricket commentators. He now commentates for Sky Sports and played this role in the video game Brian Lara International Cricket 2005.

Its also worth mentioning that David Gower has been immortalised in cockney rhyming slang as the term "shower" - e.g. "I'm feeling a bit rank, i'm off for a david"

[edit] External links

• Player Profile: David Gower from Cricinfo

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: Bob Willis	English national cricket captain 1983/4-1986	Succeeded by: Mike Gatting
Preceded by: Mike Gatting	English national cricket captain 1989	Succeeded by: Graham Gooch