A touch of Gower

Posted by   on (June 2, 2010, 21:57 GMT)

I once bought a very poor video called The David Gower Story which seemed to spend as much time discussing his favourite wines as his cricket but one thing I do remember from it is that he picked this innings out as the best he ever felt in the middle and he didn't feel there was anyway he was going to get out. Until he skied one to third man (I think).

Lovely article. Unlike some, I am old enough to remember Gower in his pomp and there was nothing more beautiful, though I agree that Mohammed Azaruddin, Martin Crowe and Mark Waugh are worthy comparisons. DavidWarner, no-one made runs against the great WIndies sides of the 80s for long, including Greenidge and Richards when they faced their colleagues in Shell Shield games. But Gower was not just a show pony. Check out the 1986 series in the WIndies when Gower was the only one to remotely cope, scoring almost literally twice as many as any of a fine group of batters including Botham, Lamb, Gatting and the much vaunted Gooch. Tim Robinson came into this series with a massive reputation but it effectively ended his Test career. Gower had far more steel than he was ever credited for.

But most of all, he was beautiful and magical to watch and for a while, he (and Botham) made English cricket exciting and fun. I am grateful to have watched cricket in those times.

Cheers Desplatt - You are correct he did suffer with the short ball which was one of the main reasons for losing his spot to Mark. I was at Adelaide oval (my home ground) watching Mark peel off his debut maiden ton. Leg side flicks very similar to that of gower. He also peeled off a sublime ton agaisnt the Windies in 92 at the MCG from memory which was equally as good with Walsh and Ambrose at their peeks.

Steve Waugh was also suffering with mild stress fractures of the back around 90-91 and resulted in him bowling very little in tests which probably contributed to his axing as well. Needless to say he came back tougher than ever albeit not as good on the eye but the rest is history as they say.

89 for steve though was just classical stroke play all around the wicket but the offside was stunning. I'll not forget those two tons for a long time.

judging by his comments Ajays_PyrotechniXX must also rate such great left handers as panesar, devon smith and farhat!! it seems only english cricket lovers can have an unbiased opinion. godly stokemakers such as lara, gower and sangakkarra, along with great fighters like chanderpaul, boycott and border are surely the best ever left-handers. not to mention the power of gooch, hayden and jayasuryia. i feel bad placing warner's name even close to these greats.

Customkid, you are so right about Steve Waugh in 1989.I got the impression that it was problems with the bouncer that made him change method but may have been back trouble or both. I had the pleasure of seeing Mark's debut century at Adelaide in 1991 which Wisden said "would never be forgotten by those who saw it. Mark Waugh and VVS would both be in my team of players who have given me the most pleasure which would also include Sobers and Barry Richards. I never saw Gower at his most fluent but I remember my late father returning from a one day match in which Robin Smith and Gower had shared a big stand. He felt compelled to write an article about it and concluded " Smith was awarded man of the match but the Gods had already made their own awards".

The author is so right about the intensity with which a youngster who is really interested watches the game.In my 50s now, I can never summon the concentration I used to as a teenager who never missed a ball and analysed it all.

Saeed Anwar never played an ugly shot in his life (though many stupid ones). through the covers, he was sublime, and flicking of the pads, just a whip of the wrists. Mark Waugh was all lazy elegence, but it was an illusion somewhat. He hit a lot of 3s, especially through the covers - failure to get a 4. elegance is good, but not when its hampering you from getting the most out of your shot. Jayawardena... This guy makes slog sweeps look graceful. amazing. Ramesh is the most Gowerish - little feet movement, tap of the ball when it reaches him and away she goes. More wristy than Gower, whose signature was cover-drive (not a wristy shot) rather than the flick. Gower would play a type of pick up shot that was very pretty to leg side balls, or the big pull.

Gower was a beautiful player - no doubt. player who most reminded me of him was Sadagoppan Ramesh - the same lack of footwork, the same gentle tap of the ball to send it merrily on its way. other elegent, touch players - Sayeed Anwar, Mark Waugh and Jayawardena. Inzamam and Youhanna weren't bad either. Azhar looked so neat with his leg flicks, but through the off-side, he thrashed the ball hard. Gavaskar had great style, but was too slow scoring to be a 'treat' to watch (Dravid too). I hear Lawrence Rowe was in a class of his own as far as elegence goes, never saw him play. We should have a list of the ugliest players too, just for fun. Steve Waugh, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan, Gurusingha, chanderpaul, Roger Twose. Border wasn't pretty, but not as ugly as he was made out to be.

I would rate the partnership between azhar and tendulkar against south africa in capetown during 1996 is best innings. The best part of the partnership is that the 15 balls faced by azhar, immediately after lunch, there were 11 fours in it.

@Gary_111 - Raina! Irfan! Ojha! Yuvraj! Betterthan Gower. If there was a Lara in that list it would have made it a bit better! Friend, get a tape of Gower during his prime and see how left handers should play. @Croc_on_Mara - It was not style over substance, it was style masking the substance!

@kempson94 - Yuvrajs failures in the recent tourneys doesnt take away anything from the fact that he is one of the most stylish and "easy on the eyes" batsman going around. The elegance and charisma that oozes from his presence on the crease cannot be matched by anyone in todays era....Magnificent is the word i would use to describe Yuvis batting whereas Gower was only silken touch