Darren Gough: Life Beyond the Boundary

Any member of the Twenty20 generation will fiercely protest, and probably call you a 'badger' if you emphasise your point with too much vigour, but there can be no denying it. Cricket is a bone fide fantasyland for statisticians. With averages and scorecards to appease even the neediest numerical junkie, no other sport has the capacity to bring anorak-bearing adults to their knees in ecstasy. So all-consuming is this preoccupation with figures, in fact, that only a special player can transcend it.

Over nineteen sparkling seasons in professional cricket before his retirement in September 2008, Darren Gough managed just that. Bounding in from the top of a generous run-up with reckless abandon for his joints and sinews, double-barrelled chest inflated to capacity and ruddy cheeks glowing, the proud Barnsley lad's explosive bowling action was a spectacle in itself. Regardless of the match situation or the format of the game, his talismanic charisma, not to mention immense skill, held audiences captive around the world. Whenever Gough was amongst their ranks with ball in hand, Yorkshire, Essex and England were never quite out of contention.

Enough of an extrovert to dominate the 2005 series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing with ferocious Foxtrots and dashing Pasa Dobles, it is hard to imagine Gough finding any common ground with those hardy, cagoule-clad stattos who brave Arctic Aprils on the boundary ropes of County Championship matches. Upon recalling his proudest accomplishments though, some remarkable powers of digital recall are evident.

"When you're in the thick of your playing, you don't have time to understand what you have achieved," he reminisces in those broad tones, familiar to talkSPORT listeners (for whom Gough hosts Drive Time alongside Adrian Durham) and anyone within earshot of a stump microphone over the past two decades.

"For example, I know that I've got 234 one-day international wickets for England. I was at the top of that list when I retired and, even with the amount of cricket they play now, I haven't been caught yet. Eventually, I'm sure I'll be caught by someone, maybe James Anderson or Stuart Broad, but they'll have to play a hell of a lot of games!"

These comments are not petty boasts or empty bravado. Rather, they are the sentiments of an immensely patriotic man who is extremely proud that he made a living, and excelled, whilst doing something he truly loves.  Goughie's tally of victims was collected over 158 50-over matches for his country whilst Anderson, in second place on the all-time list for England, has 44 fewer scalps in 140 games. Throw Gough's 229 more Test wickets into the bargain and he is a true legend of English cricket. However, as previously mentioned, it would be foolish to judge him by numbers alone. Indeed, the 40 year-old's profound, almost romantic, appreciation for cricket is palpable as he continues explain how he spends his time now that his tired knees have forbidden him from participating.

"There's just something about the start of the season," he says with a resigned chuckle. "There's the smell of cut grass, everybody is getting their bats out and oiling them. There are times when I do miss the game, but when I think back to the pain I went to over my last four or five years I kind of think that not being involved anymore isn't that bad a thing."

There are reminders of Gough's influence at every turn in the domestic game. In fact, two men who graced the same bowling attack on many occasions for country and county, now international retirees themselves, are still wheeling away. Matthew Hoggard, now captaining Leicestershire, recently took his third first-class hat-trick at the wily age of 34. Having returned to Headingley over the close season following a successful spell at Nottinghamshire, Ryan Sidebottom is also amongst the wickets. Do these evergreen efforts make Gough jealous at all?

"Well everyone obviously wants to play for as long as they can," he explains. "I was 37 when I stopped playing, having been struck down with knee trouble through Test cricket at a younger age than that, around 31. I was struggling to hold onto my career.

"Obviously you would like to go on as long as you can, but not to a point where you are just hanging in there. I feel like I ducked out at the right time because my one-day cricket was still very strong. I retired because I couldn't do it as a four-day player any more. The coaches wanted me to carry on in the one-day format but that wasn’t for me. I picked the right time to walk away, even though deep down I could probably have kept going."

Then there is a short pause. Then, any trace of melancholy evaporates and is replaced instantaneously by bubbly and intriguing enthusiasm. "I am looking forward to this summer, though."

The source of Gough's subtle change of tone becomes clear very quickly. His two sons are developing as cricketers themselves, to the delight of their father. Liam, the elder of the pair, is a cultured batsman, raring to go after spending the majority of last year recovering from an operation. His younger brother, Brennan, is an all-rounder who, according to dad, "plays exactly the way I used to." It might be worth keeping an eye on him in that case.

Given that both lads have been on tour over the winter with their schools, to Barbados and Dubai respectively, it is safe to assume that they will be chomping at the bit to get into the full swing of the season. Perhaps not quite as excited as their old man, though.

"Watching them both is absolutely great," Gough smiles. "I have never been a good spectator of cricket at all. Having played the game myself, I never felt the need to watch it live, although from time to time I caught the odd bit on television. Now, being able to see my sons play is giving me great pleasure.

I'm not one of those parents who jump up and down every time one of them hits a four or takes a wicket. I'm usually pretty calm and collected on the outside," he adds, before admitting, "on the inside I'm dying to jump up and down!"

As a man who was every ounce as competitive on the field as he is genial off it, Gough is still getting used to the concept of impartiality. As a self-respecting Yorkshireman, he would have the ghosts of Fred Trueman and Geoffrey Boycott at his throat if he were to forego honesty at any point. Sure enough, when the conversation moves to world cricket's exhausting schedule, the stocky seamer pulls no punches.

"I can't deal with people moaning about tiredness," Gough states with a spark of indignation. "The fact is that people are desperate to play in the Indian Premier League when that comes around. That's understandable because the money is huge, which is important if you've got a family to look after, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

"I think what Ravi Bopara has done (opted out of the IPL in order to take part in the opening matches of the County Championship and secure a place for the homes Test matches against India and Sri Lanka this summer) is fantastic. He is still trying to establish himself as a player, so he has chosen the right way round to do things."

Even if one was to ignore the three lions tattoo that Gough has inked on his upper left arm, staunch loyalty to the English cause is evidently a quality that he admires. Finishing with a fond, but concise, recount of his own career highlights, it is obvious that Gough relished every moment he was in international arena. The memories of various triumphs are vivid and detailed as though they could have occurred last week.

"There's a few highlights," he starts, rather modestly. "The tour to Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2001 will stay with me forever. To beat those two in their own country was a turning point for English cricket. From there, English cricket flourished. It was a fantastic."

"From an individual point of view, the two Tests at the end of the 1998-1999 Ashes tour were awesome to be involved in. We beat Australia in Melbourne when they were only chasing 140. Dean Headley and I bowled for about two hours. He got six wickets in the second innings and I got five in the first. Getting the last two wickets to secure an enormous victory for England was amazing, especially as we were getting hammered in that series against a very strong Australian team. Then, during the next Test in Sydney, I got a hat-trick."

The understated manner with which Gough touches on his exploits that famous evening at the Sydney Cricket Ground rather sum him up. There is no need for the teller to elaborate on the way in which Ian Healy, Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller were dispatched in three consecutive balls because every one of those wickets, and probably the 463 others across three formats of international cricket, are indelibly etched on his brain.

For the very last of my questions, Gough manages, for the first part of his response at least, to don a passable guise of an arbitrary media man. So, was he at all jealous of Andrew Strauss and his charges this winter?

"No, not at all," he responds, before adding mischievously, "I actually said live on radio that we'd lose the Perth Test and win the series 3-1, so I was pretty happy with myself!"

Proud as a pundit just as he was proud as a player, Darren Gough remains one of English cricket's great characters.

Darren Gough is supporting the launch of Plusnet Fibre Optic Broadband. To find out more go to www.plus.net/fibre