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Full name David Ivon Gower
Born April 1, 1957, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Current age 51 years 245 days
Major teams England,Hampshire,Leicestershire,Marylebone Cricket Club
Nickname Stoat, Lubo, Lu
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Other Commentator
Height
5 ft 11 in
Education King's School, Canterbury; University College, London
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
4s
6s
Ct
St
Tests
117
204
18
8231
215
44.25
16268
50.59
18
39
979
10
74
0
ODIs
114
111
8
3170
158
30.77
4218
75.15
7
12
290
22
44
0
First-class
448
727
70
26339
228
40.08
53
136
280
1
List A
430
417
49
12255
158
33.30
19
56
162
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
117
5
36
20
1
1/1
1/1
20.00
3.33
36.0
0
0
0
ODIs
114
2
5
14
0
-
-
-
16.80
-
0
0
0
First-class
448
260
227
4
3/47
56.75
5.23
65.0
0
0
List A
430
20
30
0
-
-
-
9.00
-
0
0
0
Career statistics
Test debut
England v Pakistan at Birmingham, Jun 1-5, 1978 scorecard
Last Test
England v Pakistan at The Oval, Aug 6-9, 1992 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut
England v Pakistan at Manchester, May 24-25, 1978 scorecard
Last ODI
New Zealand v England at Auckland, Feb 16, 1991 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class span
1975 - 1993
List A span
1975 - 1993
Profile
Wisden overview
The fluffy-haired, ethereal-looking young man who pulled his first ball in Test cricket for four in 1978 was to be England's most consistent and consistently exasperating batsman of the 1980s. Other batsmen go in and out of form: Gower always seemed to play the same - beautifully, until the moment he made a mistake. Sometimes, the mistake was put off long enough for him to play an innings of unforgettable brilliance. A left-hander with a strong top hand, Gower's strokes had a liquid, graceful feel: in an era of biffers, he was a caresser. When he edged a catch, he would be damned as irresponsible but, with his style, the difference between an exquisite stroke and a nick was little more than an inch. His character appeared as uncomplicated as his cricket, but his devil-may-care mien hid some complexities, even perhaps an inner loneliness. Lazy journalists called him "laid-back" but you don't score 8231 Test runs without a cladding of steel. And, as captain, his apparent insouciance hid a genuine belief that England should pick the best players and let them get on with it. This worked against the Australians in 1985 but was disastrous the following winter in West Indies and, even more so, when Gower regained the leadership for the 1989 Ashes series. He was out of tune with Graham Gooch's tote-that-barge regime that followed and county cricket bored him, so he retired prematurely into a career as a TV personality so successful that his cricket seemed mere preparation. Matthew Engel
