Mumbai: He never had the height that of a fast bowler but his belligerence earned him couple of epithets – Rhino and Dazzler. Darren Gough stood at 5 foot 11 inch and his cherry blossomed for more than a decade – 229 wickets in 58 Tests, 235 wickets in 159 One Day Internationals (ODI) for England.
The 45-year-old, currently rolling an arm for Leo Lions in Masters Champions League (MCL) in United Arab Emirates, spent a few minutes in an exclusive chat with this correspondent. Excerpts…
Twelve runs off the only over you bowled so far, how much did that hurt?
I expected it would be hard with the new ball. I don’t think it has been the worst over in MCL. I am still the fastest bowler at 80 mph (laughs). But when you have only two fielders out on such pitches, it is not a nice time to bowl.
What made you say ‘yes’ to MCL?
I thought it would be a good idea to play with the guys I played against many years ago and had terrific battles. It was fantastic to catch up with all of them.
How is the body behaving, do occasional dancing keep you fit?
Well, it does. But I am surprised there have not been many injuries so far. As far as I am concerned, I have done everything – from dancing, ski jumping to Mexican wrestling.
What have you been doing post retirement (in 2006)?
I work for talkSPORT – the sports radio station and I have been talking about football. I have done two World Cups and next year, I am off to France for the European Championship. I even did a bit of cricket commentary.
Did you follow Cricket All Stars, who impressed you the most?
I was supposed to be a part of it but I was in Australia and could not make it. But I caught bits and pieces of the tournament with my kids. Virender Sehwag was good, he could still play Tests if he wanted to. Even Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) can still play at the highest level.
Virender Sehwag (L) and Sachin Tendulkar during Cricket All Stars in USA. (Photo: AFP)
What are your thoughts on the current England squad, absence of Kevin Pietersen, with the ICC World T20 approaching?
First of all, Kevin Pietersen should be there, he is one of the best T20 players in the world. It is unfortunate that he has fallen out with England to the point of not being picked anymore. It will be sad if our best player does not get to play the World T20. But otherwise, England has a good side. They have batsmen who can play 360 degrees around the pitch. But we lack a world class spinner. The seamers need to take early wickets as well.
Kevin Pietersen (Photo: AP)
What do you think about India’s chances?
If not the best team, they are definitely among the best two in limited-over cricket. I was not surprised to see them do well in Australia. Even the ladies were brilliant. They will start favourites.
People are comparing Virat Kohli with Sachin Tendulkar, what do you think about his batting and where would you bowl at him to get him out?
When Tendulkar played, we hoped it was his off day. I used to try and bowl him back of the length outside the off stump, get him to drive, the similar trick I had for Ricky Ponting. Once they settled down, it was difficult to bowl at their stumps. Kohli is a similar kind of player, likes to play on the off side. When he came to England, the guys were bowling to the wicketkeeper to force him to nick.
Why don’t we see fast bowlers like earlier days anymore?
I agree there has been a decline. It could be due to less competition. When I was around, there was a Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose from West Indies, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis from Pakistan, even Zimbabwe had a good bowling line-up. Today, when you get in there, you are comfortable for you know there is nobody breathing down your neck and with T20, it is getting tougher.
