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By Will 2 years ago, mid-July Leave a comment on this post
I have to admit that when Sri Lanka were pissing all over England in the one-day series I did seriously long for someone of Darren Gough’s calibre as a one-day bowler. I even, momentarily, honoured the notion of recalling him. But then, he is so very old and so very up his own derriere - in his own cheeky, impish and mildly endearing manner - that I’ve binned the prospect of him ever returning, especially when he sounds off like this:
“I never give up and I’m determined to get back in but the only reason I’m not selected was the fact I did Strictly Come Dancing,” he told BBC Five Live.
“The reason I took the winter off was to spend some time with my children and it was the best winter I’ve had.”
Who is he trying to kid? He spent the winter prancing around for some extra dosh. He ends it with:
If I don’t get a recall for the Pakistan series, I’m not going to get the recall
Well, duh.
Tags: darren-gough, england, strictly-come-dancing |
I think what he meant by the last point was that if he’s not recalled for the Pakistan series, that’s his International cricket career over.
I have to admit I’ve got some sympathy for the guy, and it would certainly be foolish to exclude him on any grounds other than whether or not he is one of the best 5 one-day bowlers in the country.
Which he probably is - but then, so is my mum based on the performances against Sri Lanka.
In my mind Gough was wise to concentrate on his dancing.
england know they need an experienced bowler like goughy even if he is just in the squad. they’ve got so many young players coming through and they do NEED sum1 like goughy to look up to and go to for advice, and he has been there, done it, got the ….. (yeah u get the jist).
BRING GOUGHY BACK
Gough is emblematic of the England cricket side of old, he like Thorpe and Stewart made very good contributions in mediocre sides.
We should hope this England side is capable of greater achievements, Vaughan in particular has given the side a keener edge, more cerebral less sentimental- the beginnings of a truly professional national team, does England with it’s unwieldy sports bureaucracy’s and anmtiquated thinking possess such a team in any team sport?
I have just read Duncan Fletchers Ashes summation, and if any of you have also read it i am interested in your views.
Japaddy, where is this Ashes summation by Fletcher — somewhere online?
It’s a book Kathy, and it’s called Ashes Regained, it is not a great read but it gets you into Fletchers head, and it also underscores the importance of Vaughans continued involvement in English cricket.
Oh right. Thanks, Japaddy. I actually have that book but read it months ago. You’re right — like many sports books the actual writing standard isn’t the greatest, and he’s not a man who gives away a lot. But the relationship with Vaughan is clearly very close, and I’m sure Fletcher is hoping against hope that Vaughan can pick things up again in the New Year. As do I. I am still finding it very hard to wrap my head around Vaughan’s absence from the Ashes. It seems cruelly unfair. A great part of England’s strength last year to me was Freddie’s allround stardom (and of course the massive contributions from most of the rest of the team) as harnessed by Vaughan’s brain. Things just feel out of kilter to me now, through no-one’s fault, of course.
Fletcher seems very managerial, not a stand-out leader and interestingly he gives Vaughan the credit for the field settings in the ashes, a huge factor in suffocating the Australian stroke makers; England will miss Vaighans tactical accumen as well as his ability to motivate.
One question to all, apart from being a great fast bowler, what credentials does Alan Donald have to coach bowling?
He has no chance of getting back in the side! Its like saying Steve Waugh is gunna come out of retirement for the Summer 
shutupppp goughy HAS to be in the squad
japaddy, in answer to what qualifies Donald to coach bowling - if memory serves me correctly (and it probably doesn’t) it doesn’t appear now as if AD was ever all that serious about getting the England coaching job. His aim seems to have been to wake up the authorities here in SA and make them see that we could be losing the services of one of the greatest bowlers we’ve ever had unless they make a move to retain him.
Many great players of ours have been given the cold shoulder by the UCB when we could be using them to aid and improve cricket in SA, and Donald seems to have hit upon a great way to make them see it. It got him into the fold as a mentor/coach/instructor at our academy, after all…
Didn’t Hoggard go to SA at one point to get some coaching from Donald?
Kathy, yes, Hoggard played at least one season for the Free State cricket side. Allan Donald played his entire career for Free State, and coached them (or at least assisted with the coaching) after he retired. I can’t recall if he was still playing when Hoggard was in Bloemfontein, but either way, Hoggard would probably have received plenty of assistance from Donald, either as a senior player or as a coach.
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