Darren Gough

Darren Gough Biography

Darren Gough is a former English cricketer, who was born on 18 September 1970 in Monk Bretton, Yorkshire England. He was right-arm fast bowler and a right-handed batsman.

Gough’s physique was not of a typical fast bowler, as he was broad and bulky and was laid down by critics because of lack of fitness and ability to deliver quick balls. However, Gough proved his critics wrong by becoming one of the most successful bowlers in the England cricketing history.

Background

Darren Gough made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 19 for Yorkshire, a county club in England. He was talented enough to swing deliveries in both the directions, however his broad structure had him fall for criticism.

Former West Indies cricketer Richie Richardson’s motivation to bowl around his strength rather than concentrate on critics helped Darren a great deal, and he started showing it in his performances in 1993 which helped him break into the senior national team.

Debut

Darren made his ODI debut in May 1994 against New Zealand, and he took two wickets and gave away just 36 runs in 11 over spell as England won that match by 42 runs.

He made his test debut in June 2004, against New Zealand in the third test match. In the first innings Darren scored 65 runs off 126 balls adding to the 382 totals. He also proved his stature as bowler by taking 4 wickets in 16.3 overs giving away just 47 runs. In the second innings he took 2 wickets in 31.2 overs giving 105 runs, however the match was drawn.

His debut in a 20 over format came in June 2005 against Australia. He performed well by taking three wickets in three overs, proving to be a very versatile player.

Rise to Glory

Despite his injuries he was one of the highest wicket takers for England, especially in ODIs. He has a record of 235 wickets in his 159 ODIs. He also has nine five wicket hauls in his test career and two in ODIs.

Club Career

Darren played a vast majority of his career for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Playing for 15 years, he finally decided to join Essex in 2004 due to family reasons, but in 2007 he returned to Yorkshire to become their skipper.

His captaincy was off to a great start with multiple wins in the bag and achieving his best career figures in June 2007, taking 6-47 against Kent.

Retirement

Gough retired from test cricket in 2003 after suffering from a career threatening knee injury.

Darren announced his retirement from all forms of the game including his first-class cricket in 2008 with a record of 855 wickets in 248 games.