David Gower at the SCG in his commentator avatar post retirement c.2007

David Gower is an English former cricketer who batted with a graceful style as part of the top order for the England cricket team for over a decade.[1] He scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 18 occasions in Test cricket, and 7 times in One Day International (ODI) matches.[1] He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1979 for his performances the previous year, which included being the youngest batsman to score a century for England since Peter May in 1951.[2] He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992 for services to sports,[3] and in 2009 was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[4]

Gower made his Test debut for England in June 1978 against Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham.[1] He achieved his first century in Test cricket later that year, scoring 111 runs against New Zealand at The Oval, London.[5] The following summer, Gower scored his first double-century, remaining unbeaten on 200 off 279 deliveries, in a batting innings described as "effortless" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[6] He did not pass a hundred again until 1981, when he scored 154 not out against the West Indies, his runs coming off 403 deliveries at a strike rate of 38.21 – his lowest when scoring a century.[5] Across 1984 and 1985, Gower struck five centuries in Test cricket, and on each occasion he passed 150 runs.[5] Three of these centuries were scored during the 1985 Ashes, in which Gower was named as Man of the Series.[7] In the fifth match he reached his highest score in Test cricket, amassing 215 runs and sharing a partnership of 331 with Tim Robinson. At the time, it was the sixth largest partnership for England, but in the next match Gower and Graham Gooch surpassed it, putting on 351 runs together.[8][note 1] Gower's final Test century was scored in January 1991, when he reached 123 against Australia. In total, nine of Gower's eighteen Test centuries came during Ashes series,[5] the fourth most by any batsman.[9]

In ODI cricket, Gower's first century came in his second match for England, played against Pakistan in 1978, when he was 114 not out at the close of the innings.[10] He was most prolific in 1983, when he scored four of his seven centuries in ODIs.[11] Three of these centuries were scored against New Zealand during the 1982–83 World Series Cup,[11] earning him the accolade of Man of the Preliminary Series.[12] In the fourth match of the competition he scored 158 runs, which in the context of ODI cricket was both his highest score,[1] and at the time, the highest score by any England batsman.[13][note 2] Despite playing ODI cricket for England until 1991, Gower's final century in the format came in June 1985 against Australia, when he scored 102.[10]

Key

Test centuries

No. Score Against Pos. Inn. Test Venue H/A/N Date Result
1 111 M  New Zealand 4 2 1/3 The Oval, London Home 27 July 1978 Won[14]
2 102  Australia 5 1 2/6 Western Australian Cricket Association Ground, Perth Away 15 December 1978 Won[15]
3 200* M  India 5 1 1/4 Edgbaston, Birmingham Home 12 July 1979 Won[16]
4 154*  West Indies 4 3 5/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Away 10 April 1981 Drawn[17]
5 114  Australia 3 3 3/5 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Away 10 December 1982 Lost[18]
6 112*  New Zealand 3 3 2/4 Headingley, Leeds Home 28 July 1983 Lost[19]
7 108 M  New Zealand 3 1 3/4 Lord's, London Home 11 August 1983 Won[20]
8 152 ‡ M  Pakistan 5 2 2/3 Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Away 12 March 1984 Drawn[21]
9 173* ‡  Pakistan 4 3 3/3 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Away 19 March 1984 Drawn[22]
10 166 ‡ M  Australia 3 1 3/6 Trent Bridge, Nottingham Home 11 July 1985 Drawn[23]
11 215 ‡  Australia 3 2 5/6 Edgbaston, Birmingham Home 15 August 1985 Won[24]
12 157 ‡  Australia 3 1 6/6 The Oval, London Home 29 August 1985 Won[25]
13 131  New Zealand 3 2 3/3 The Oval, London Home 21 August 1986 Drawn[26]
14 136  Australia 5 1 2/5 Western Australian Cricket Association Ground, Perth Away 28 November 1986 Drawn[27]
15 106 ‡  Australia 5 3 2/6 Lord's, London Home 22 June 1989 Lost[28]
16 157*  India 3 3 3/3 The Oval, London Home 23 August 1990 Drawn[29]
17 100  Australia 5 1 2/5 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Away 26 December 1990 Lost[30]
18 123  Australia 5 2 3/5 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Away 4 January 1991 Drawn[31]

ODI centuries

No. Score Against Pos. Inn. S/R Venue H/A/N Date Result
1 114* M  Pakistan 4 1 93.44 The Oval, London Home 26 May 1978 Won[32]
2 101* M  Australia 5 1 101.00 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Away 4 February 1979 Lost[33]
3 122 M  New Zealand 1 2 91.04 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Neutral 13 January 1983 Lost[34]
4 158 M  New Zealand 3 1 133.89 Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Neutral 15 January 1983 Won[35]
5 109  New Zealand 3 1 128.23 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Neutral 29 January 1983 Lost[36]
6 130 M  Sri Lanka 3 1 108.33 County Ground, Taunton Home 11 June 1983 Won[37]
7 102 ‡ M  Australia 3 2 86.44 Lord's, London Home 3 June 1986 Won[38]

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ As of August 2022, Gower and Gooch's partnership of 351 is the eighth highest by England in Test cricket, while Gower and Robinson's 331 is the eleventh highest.[8]
  2. ^ As of August 2022, Gower's score of 158 is the sixth highest score by a batsman for England in ODIs.[13]
References
  1. ^ a b c d "Player Profile: David Gower". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  2. ^ "David Gower: Cricketer of the Year 1979". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2011. Originally published in: Preston, Norman, ed. (1979). Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1979 (116 ed.). London: Queen Anne Press.
  3. ^ "University of Winchester Graduation 2010 at Winchester Cathedral". University of Winchester. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Ashes greats Allan Border, Neil Harvey, David Gower and Derek Underwood inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame". Bradman Foundation. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d "Statistics / Statsguru / DI Gower / Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  6. ^ "England v India: First Cornhill Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2011. Originally published in: Preston, Norman, ed. (1980). Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1980 (117 ed.). London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-362-02003-5.
  7. ^ "Australia in British Isles 1985". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Records / England / Test matches / Highest partnerships by runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Ashes Historical Stats > Batting > Most Centuries". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Statistics / Statsguru / DI Gower / One-Day Internationals (Batting innings list)". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Statistics / Statsguru / DI Gower / One-Day Internationals (Centuries list)". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Benson and Hedges World Series Cup 1982/83". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Records / England / One-Day Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  14. ^ "1st Test: England v New Zealand at The Oval, July 27 – Aug 1, 1978". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  15. ^ "2nd Test: Australia v England at Perth, Dec 15–20, 1978". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  16. ^ "1st Test: England v India at Birmingham, Jul 12–16, 1979". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  17. ^ "5th Test: West Indies v England at Kingston, Apr 10–15, 1981". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  18. ^ "3rd Test: Australia v England at Adelaide, Dec 10–15, 1982". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  19. ^ "2nd Test: England v New Zealand at Leeds, July 28 – Aug 1, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  20. ^ "3rd Test: England v New Zealand at Lord's, Aug 11–15, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  21. ^ "2nd Test: Pakistan v England at Faisalabad, Mar 12–17, 1984". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  22. ^ "3rd Test: Pakistan v England at Lahore, Mar 19–24, 1984". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  23. ^ "3rd Test: England v Australia at Nottingham, Jul 11–16, 1985". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  24. ^ "5th Test: England v Australia at Birmingham, Aug 15–20, 1985". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  25. ^ "6th Test: England v Australia at The Oval, Aug 29 – Sep 2, 1985". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  26. ^ "3rd Test: England v New Zealand at The Oval, Aug 21–26, 1986". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  27. ^ "2nd Test: Australia v England at Perth, Nov 28 – Dec 3, 1986". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  28. ^ "2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, Jun 22–27, 1989". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  29. ^ "3rd Test: England v India at The Oval, Aug 23–28, 1990". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  30. ^ "2nd Test: Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 26–30, 1990". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  31. ^ "3rd Test: Australia v England at Sydney, Jan 4–8, 1991". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  32. ^ "2nd ODI: England v Pakistan at The Oval, May 26, 1978". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  33. ^ "3rd ODI: Australia v England at Melbourne, Feb 4, 1979". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  34. ^ "3rd Match: England v New Zealand at Melbourne, Jan 13, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  35. ^ "4th Match: England v New Zealand at Brisbane, Jan 15, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  36. ^ "11th Match: England v New Zealand at Adelaide, Jan 29, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  37. ^ "5th Match: England v Sri Lanka at Taunton, Jun 11, 1983". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  38. ^ "3rd ODI: England v Australia at Lord's, Jun 3, 1985". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2011.

External links


List of international cricket centuries
Categories