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Full name Darren Gough
Born September 18, 1970, Monk Bretton, Barnsley, Yorkshire
Current age 37 years 242 days
Major teams England, Essex, Yorkshire
Nickname Rhino, Dazzler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Height 5 ft 11 in
Education Priory Comprehensive

Batting and fielding averages
	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	58	86	18	855	65	12.57	1967	43.46	0	2	102	9	13
ODIs	159	87	38	609	46*	12.42	947	64.30	0	0	43	5	25
T20Is	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
First-class	242	319	60	4489	121	17.33			1	20			47
List A	406	222	74	2054	72*	13.87			0	2			70
Twenty20	23	14	2	179	37	14.91	138	129.71	0	0	19	4	1

Bowling averages
	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	58	95	11821	6503	229	6/42	9/92	28.39	3.30	51.6	14	9	0
ODIs	159	156	8470	6209	235	5/44	5/44	26.42	4.39	36.0	10	2	0
T20Is	2	2	41	49	3	3/16	3/16	16.33	7.17	13.6	0	0	0
First-class	242		43369	22858	848	7/28		26.95	3.16	51.1		33	3
List A	406		20157	14038	584	7/27	7/27	24.03	4.17	34.5	21	7	0
Twenty20	23	23	461	588	25	3/16	3/16	23.52	7.65	18.4	0	0	0

Career statistics
Test debut	England v New Zealand at Manchester, Jun 30-Jul 5, 1994 scorecard
Last Test	England v South Africa at Lord's, Jul 31-Aug 3, 2003 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	England v New Zealand at Birmingham, May 19, 1994 scorecard
Last ODI	England v Pakistan at Lord's, Sep 2, 2006 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut	England v Australia at Southampton, Jun 13, 2005 scorecard
Last T20I	England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut	1989
Last First-class	Durham v Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street, May 14-16, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1990
Last List A	Lancashire v Yorkshire at Manchester, May 11, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Middlesex v Essex at Southgate, Jul 12, 2004 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Sussex v Yorkshire at Hove, Jul 18, 2007 scorecard

Profile

Dazzler, extrovert, inspirer, attack leader and England's best strike bowler since Bob Willis and Ian Botham, Darren Gough grew from often-injured good to match-fit great, until a long-standing knee problem curtailed his Ashes campaign in 2002-03 heralding a premature end to his Test career the following summer.

However, he refused to concede his playing days were over and continued in England one-day colours, hanging grimly to a place until he was omitted from the 2007 World Cup Squad. But, not one for a quiet ending, after three years at Essex he returned to Yorkshire as captain on a two-year deal in 2007.

Not blessed with the height of Curtly Ambrose or Glenn McGrath - and thus lacking a stock ball to match - Gough developed other means of claiming wickets by watching, experimenting and learning. In the process he became England's first and foremost exponent of reverse-swing and a fine changer of pace. Just as Fred Trueman needed a straight man in Brian Statham to complement him, so had Gough in Andy Caddick. A showman like Cork, with a softer side, Gough could inspire team-mates and crowds with a diving catch or some daring hitting as well. He had the right chemistry to cause spontaneous combustion, to make things happen and help others play above themselves.

Nobody contributed more to England's four series wins in a row in 2000 and 2000-01 than Gough, who was Man of the Series against West Indies and in Sri Lanka. Succeeding there and in Pakistan, the traditional graveyard of fast bowlers, was the final stage of his development, although even his self-confidence took a battering after England's failure to compete against Australia the following summer.

In need of a rest, he chose to miss England's trip to India, and though selected for the one-dayers in New Zealand, he damaged his knee in the final match - it seemed trivial at the time, but mushroomed into a year of misdiagnosis and aborted comebacks. He was forced out of the Ashes tour and the World Cup, but somehow willed himself back to fitness in time for the 2003 season, when lesser mortals would have accepted their fate. And though he was instrumental in England's NatWest Series victory that summer, he was exposed in Test cricket, from which he retired after a heavy Lord's defeat against South Africa. He was overlooked for the one-day series in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the following winter, and, in January 2004, he parted company with Yorkshire after 15 years to head to Essex, giving family reasons as the deciding factor.

Gough returned to the international stage in 2004, but was a shadow of his former self - save for a brief stint in South Africa in January and February 2005. Though he still harboured ambitions of playing in the 2007 World Cup, Gough's ebullient personality discovered life after cricket, when he won the BBC talent contest, Strictly Come Dancing. With his World Cup snub the international days have ended, but the final chapters of his career are yet to be written.
Scyld Berry February 2007