Award for Gough reflects his spirit in Ashes adversity (23 March 1999)
DARREN Gough was presented with £10,000 and an engraved glass trophy at a lunch in London yesterday, his reward for being judged the Cornhill Insurance England Player of the Year
23-Mar-1999
23 March 1999
Award for Gough reflects his spirit in Ashes adversity
By Christopher Martin-Jenkins
DARREN Gough was presented with £10,000 and an engraved glass
trophy at a lunch in London yesterday, his reward for being
judged the Cornhill Insurance England Player of the Year.
Speaking on behalf of the panel who assessed the performances of
England players against South Africa last season and in the
winter matches in Australia, the England coach, David Lloyd, said
that it had taken "no more than about 15 seconds" to decide who
the winner should be.
The citation spoke of Gough's ebullient performances against
South Africa, his indefatigable spirit during an Ashes campaign
which brought him 21 wickets, despite the abundance of dropped
catches early in the series, and his aggressive and skilful
bowling during the one-day series that followed.
Lloyd added: "He's a big lad with a big smile and big pace; a
team player, a people's player and he's highly respected by all
international opposition. What's more, he'll get better: just ask
him."
Alec Stewart, Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Angus Fraser and
Mark Ramprakash were the other players considered for the award,
but Fraser ran out of steam in Australia after his success
against the West Indies and South Africa and none of the batsmen
were considered to be consistent enough.
It is the second time Gough has won the award, given annually by
Cornhill. He also did so in 1994/95 after his successful start in
Test cricket, particularly during a first tour of Australia.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)