Gough

[Speedboy Salesman]

I was reading the Daily Mail the other day (can't remember when, may have been Tuesday) that the England selectors were pondering whether to put Gough back into the England ODI side after poor England ODI matches. A reality or just "blah" from this paper that I don't personally care for much anyway?

[Collyisamackem]

Pie in the sky, Gough's ODI career is over and he knows it. He has been a fantastic star of a bowler for England for many years, and for a long time my favourite English bowler, but his attitude over being left out after he opted out of a tour and since over his non-selection has been nothing short of a disgrace. He knows England need to build and bring youngsters through, and his bowling form in the NatWest series last year was awful with the new ball. His time has gone, and he needs to accept it.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Collyisamackem

his attitude over being left out after he opted out of a tour and since over his non-selection has been nothing short of a disgrace.

Any player who goes dancing rather than play for his country is asking for the chop. It's a very long way back into favour after something like that, and time is certainly not on Goughie's side.

[The Phantom Ram]

I have a dislike for the man. He could have become, with decent application, a genuine test class all rounder. However he decided not to practise his batting.

[Whips_off_the_bails]

Dislike for the man? He took 229 test and 235 one-day wickets and he was an inspiration in a mostly uninspiring era for English cricket. How can you dislike the man? The one bright moment of a hugely disappointing English summer before Old Trafford was an interview I read with Goughie. Even in cold print the man radiates love for life and enthusiasm for what he does.

This obsession with developing everyone into all-rounders nowadays borders on the quite barmy. We would be winning this test match if we'd picked Lewis for his bowling rather than Mahmood for his supiposed "all-round" skills.

When you are your captain's only strike weapon and you're bowling tons of overs in a match and you've been injured scores of times as Goughie was for so long, maybe you just don't have time to do the batsmen's job for them as well.

[Speedboy Salesman]

I have mixed feelings about Darren... I've always held him in high regard, and his bowling was good for England. But when I watched Cricket AM a while ago with him on it, I thought he was just egotistical...and I hate people like that.

[greg]

I can't understand how anybody can dislike a man who carried the bowling attack for much of the 90's.If the selectors had used Caddick more earlier and picked Bicknell as the 3rd seamer then he might have been able to work more on his batting but when you are totally carrying a poor side then it makes it a bit difficult.

[Speedboy Salesman]

I think it's his attitude in the present day we don't like.

[Teatime FatCat]

Darren is the best at promoting Darren, and I have a certain dislike for his constant pronouncements in the sympathetic media. That said, his big gob aside - he should be in the squad, and would be in my final 14 also.

[Speedboy Salesman]

"Big gob" - couldn't have put it better myself.