David Gower
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Template:Infobox Cricketer David Ivon Gower (born April 1, 1957) is a famous cricketer, former captain of the England side. He was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
In 1975 he made his debut for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, for whom he played until 1989. From 1990 until 1993 he was with Hampshire.
Gower was an elegant left hand batsmen and has a reputation for being aloof, perhaps because of his privately educated background and upper-class accent and manner. Considered one of the finest English players to grace the field, his laconic style was often misinterpreted as indifference and a lack of seriousness. The same style often resulted in big centuries, a fine example of which was his 157 in the 6th Ashes test in the English summer of 1985. This was during his first period as captain, for which he had limited overall success. The Ashes series of 1985 was a highlight with his own batting including 3 big centuries.
Gower was "forced" from the international arena by short sighted English selectors. Witness a BBC sports news announcement on the English team to tour India in the early 1990s: in the background a scene showing Gower playing the Pakistan quick bowlers with ease; during the tests all other batsmen had struggled against them; yet in the team, no Gower. Effectively his cricket career was at a premature end at age 35.
Since that time he has been a commentator throughout the world, and an advocate for endangered African wildlife. Perhaps the best summation of his batting talent comes from Clive Lloyd who noted that Gower would be an automatic selection in his West Indies team regardless. High praise indeed, and a recognition of a genuine match winner with the bat.
Since leaving the game, Gower has enjoyed a new career as a television personality, including being one of the team captains on the popular BBC comedy sports quiz, They Think It's All Over from 1995 till 2003.
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| Preceded by: Mike Brearley | English national cricket captain 1982-1986 | Succeeded by: Mike Gatting |
| Preceded by: Mike Gatting | English national cricket captain 1989 | Succeeded by: Graham Gooch |