da betsul： They paid him the highest compliment possible and say he played the gamelike an Australian
David Wiseman11-Aug-2003They paid him the highest compliment possible and say he played the gamelike an Australian.Larger than life and always the centre of attention, Darren Gough alwaystantalized his fans with amazing feats but, sadly for him and for England, hecould not produce these consistently.As the consummate performer he knew that it was best to be centre stagewhen the spotlight was brightest and that was, of course, against Australia.The Australians craved a contest and a feisty worthy opponent and they foundthat in Gough.At Sydney in 1995, he captured six wickets and thrashed a scintillating halfcentury. This brought hopes that he would be the saviour of English cricket.Capable of wreaking havoc with both bat and ball.Seventy-four of his 229 wickets were Australian victims (his next highest is SouthAfrica with 43) and he always tried to make inroads into the Australian toporder. More often than not he succeeded and claimed Michael Slater’s wicketeight times and Ricky Ponting and Mark Taylor six each. He never wentwicketless in a Test against Australia.Gough batted at No 9 and 10 for the majority of his career but gave earlyglimpses that maybe he should have been at eight. He had two half-centuriesin his first seven Test matches after which his batting average was 35.Thereafter, Gough somewhat lost much of his proficiency with the blade andhis average steadily declined to 13.When Gough delivered he delivered in spades. With Australia 13 runs shy ofvictory in Melbourne in 1998 and two wickets in hand, within the space ofthree balls Gough cleaned bowled Stuart MacGill and pinned Glenn McGrath infront to give England a famous victory. Four days later in Sydney, Goughcaptured the first English Ashes hat-trick in 100 years. The hat-trickdelivery which cannoned into Colin Miller’s off stump was unplayable.What will history make of Gough’s career? His nickname ‘Dazzler’ provessomewhat ironic. Like a comet, he dazzled brightly but dazzled quickly andall cricket fans will be left pondering what he could have been had he beenable to avoid the serious injuries he suffered.Players might spend hundreds of hours in the nets, and studying videos andthe like, but Gough proved that there is still a place in the game fornatural exuberance and talent.Australian fans recognized his infectious personality and his desire toalways have a go. There was no such thing as a honorable defeat. Going downswinging and fighting. At times he may not have elected to play thepercentages but with his instincts instead. A mercurial talent who left thegame better for his presence. He will be missed.