Editing David Gower

{{short description|English cricket player (born 1957)}}
{{about|the cricketer David Gower|the palaeontologist|David J. Gower|the rugby league player|David Gower (rugby league)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = David Gower
| honorific_suffix = [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image = David Gower.jpg
| caption = Gower, photographed in 2007 
| country = England
| fullname = David Ivon Gower
| nickname = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|4|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Tunbridge Wells]], [[Kent]], England
| heightft = 5
| heightinch = 11
| batting = Left-handed
| bowling = Right arm [[off spin|off break]]
| role = [[Batsman]]
| international = true
| testdebutdate = 1 June
| testdebutyear = 1978
| testdebutagainst = Pakistan
| testcap = 479
| lasttestdate = 9 August
| lasttestyear = 1992
| lasttestagainst = Pakistan
| odidebutdate = 24 May
| odidebutyear = 1978
| odidebutagainst = Pakistan
| odicap = 46
| lastodidate = 16 February
| lastodiyear = 1991
| lastodiagainst = New Zealand
| club1 = [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]]
| year1 = 1975–1989
| club2 = [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]
| year2 = 1990–1993
| columns = 4
| column1 = [[Test cricket|Test]]
| matches1 = 117
| runs1 = 8,231
| bat avg1 = 44.25
| 100s/50s1 = 18/39
| top score1 = 215
| deliveries1 = 36
| wickets1 = 1
| bowl avg1 = 20.00
| fivefor1 = 0
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 1/1
| catches/stumpings1 = 74/–
| column2 = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| matches2 = 114
| runs2 = 3,170
| bat avg2 = 30.77
| 100s/50s2 = 7/12
| top score2 = 158
| deliveries2 = 5
| wickets2 = 0
| bowl avg2 = –
| fivefor2 = –
| tenfor2 = –
| best bowling2 = –
| catches/stumpings2 = 44/–
| column3 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches3 = 448
| runs3 = 26,339
| bat avg3 = 40.08
| 100s/50s3 = 53/136
| top score3 = 228
| deliveries3 = 260
| wickets3 = 4
| bowl avg3 = 56.75
| fivefor3 = 0
| tenfor3 = 0
| best bowling3 = 3/47
| catches/stumpings3 = 280/1
| column4 = [[List A cricket|LA]]
| matches4 = 430
| runs4 = 12,255
| bat avg4 = 33.30
| 100s/50s4 = 19/56
| top score4 = 158
| deliveries4 = 20
| wickets4 = 0
| bowl avg4 = –
| fivefor4 = –
| tenfor4 = –
| best bowling4 = –
| catches/stumpings4 = 162/–
| medaltemplates =  <!-- Mention Host Names for Team Sports-->
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Cricket]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{cr|ENG}}}} 
{{MedalCompetition|ICC [[Cricket World Cup]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[1979 Cricket World Cup|1979 England]]|}}
| date = 1 September
| year = 2007
| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/1564.html CricketArchive
}}

'''David Ivon Gower''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former [[cricket]]er who was captain of the [[England cricket team]] during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 [[Test cricket|Test matches]] and 114 [[One Day International]]s (ODI) scoring 8,231 and 3,170 [[Run (cricket)|runs]], respectively. He was one of the most [[capped]] and high-scoring players for England during this period, and only [[Jack Hobbs]] made more runs against Australia than Gower's 3,269. He was a part of the English squad which finished as [[1979 Cricket World Cup final|runners-up]] at the [[1979 Cricket World Cup]].

Gower led England during the [[1985 Ashes series|1985 Ashes]], and his team was victorious; however, two 5–0 [[Whitewash (sport)|whitewashes]] against the [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]] (in 1984 and 1985–86) reflected poorly on his captaincy, and Gower was replaced in 1986. He was briefly reinstated for the [[1989 Ashes series]], before being replaced as captain by [[Graham Gooch]]. The strained relationship between the pair contributed to Gower retiring from international cricket in 1993. Nevertheless, he ended with an impressive record in [[first-class cricket]], accumulating 26,339 runs at an [[Batting average (cricket)|average]] of 40.08, and 53 centuries. As of February 2021, he held the record of 119 consecutive innings without registering a [[Duck (cricket)|duck]] in Test cricket.<ref name="Beard">{{cite book |title=Ask Bearders |last=Frindall |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Frindall |year=2009 |publisher=[[BBC Books]]|isbn=978-1-84607-880-4 |page=106}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Records/Test matches/Batting records/ Most consecutive innings without a duck|url=https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/284075.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117000502/https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/284075.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Following his retirement, Gower became a successful cricket commentator with [[Sky Sports]], and on 16 July 2009 he was inducted into the [[ICC Cricket Hall of Fame]].<ref name="cricpro"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesportscampus.com/200907161402/test-cricket/hof-inductees|title=Border, Harvey, Gower, Underwood inducted into Hall of Fame|date=17 July 2009|publisher=The Sports Campus|access-date=16 July 2009|archive-date=22 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822094105/http://www.thesportscampus.com/200907161402/test-cricket/hof-inductees|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="icchalloffame"/>

On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/790131|title=England's greatest Test XI revealed|date=30 July 2018|work=ICC|access-date=26 July 2009|archive-date=26 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726130545/https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/790131|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life==
Gower was born in [[Tunbridge Wells]] in 1957. His father, Richard Gower [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]], was working for the [[Colonial Service]] in a position in [[Dar es Salaam]], capital of the then British-administered territory of [[Tanganyika Territory]], where Gower spent his early childhood.<ref name="cricpro">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/13418.html|title=Player Profile: David Gower|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=6 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180606093725/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/13418.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gower42">Gower, pp. 42–43.</ref> The family returned to England after [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]] was granted independence, when Gower was six years old, settling in [[Kent]] and later moving to [[Loughborough]].<ref name="Gower42"/> Gower attended [[Preparatory school (UK)|prep school]] at [[Marlborough House School]] in [[Hawkhurst]] from the age of 8 to that of 13, where he leaned towards cricket as his preferred sport.<ref name="Gower44">Gower, p. 44</ref>

He was awarded a scholarship to attend [[The King's School Canterbury|The King's School]] in [[Canterbury]] – where his father had once been [[head boy]] – as a [[Boarding school|boarder]].<ref name="Gower44"/> Gower made the school cricket [[XI (cricket)|First XI]] aged 14, and was later made [[Captain (cricket)|captain]].<ref>Gower, p. 45.</ref> He also played for the [[Rugby union|rugby]] First XV before being dropped from the team for "lack of effort".<ref>Gower, p. 46.</ref> While at school, Gower played representative cricket for [[Independent school (UK)#Public schools|Public Schools]] against [[State school#United Kingdom|English Schools]] at under-16 level.

Gower finished school with eight [[O level]]s, three [[A level]]s and one [[Scholarship level|S level]] in history. He sat the History exam for [[Oxford University]] and was offered an interview at [[St Edmund Hall, Oxford|St Edmund Hall]], but missed a place.<ref name="Gower49">Gower, pp. 49–50.</ref> Spurning a place at [[University College London]], Gower returned to school in an attempt to gain two more A levels but lost interest partway through the year.<ref>Meher-Homji, p. 35.</ref> Having played some matches for the [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] Second XI the previous summer, Gower tried his luck at the club as a professional for the remainder of the year, for £25 per week.<ref name="Gower49"/> In the summer, Gower returned to University College, where he studied law, but after six months he returned to professional cricket.<ref>Gower, p. 51.</ref>

Gower is nicknamed "Lord Gower" by his Sky Sports colleagues, in allusion to his aristocratic ancestry and [[Public school (UK)|public school]] education. As a member of the Gower family formerly of Glandovan, he is a distant cousin of the [[Leveson-Gower]] family, [[Dukes of Sutherland]].<ref>Burke's Landed Gentry- Wales and the North West, ed. Charles Mosley, 2006, p. 157</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burkespeerage.com |title=burkespeerage.com |publisher=burkespeerage.com |date=30 April 2013 |access-date=3 August 2013 |archive-date=15 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715215802/http://www.burkespeerage.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Per Gower's autobiography, ''An Endangered Species'', "there was reckoned to be land in the family in Pembrokeshire two or three generations earlier, which an errant ancestor gambled away in a moment of boredom, and a connection with a place called Castell Malgwyn, now a country house hotel, in Cardigan."<ref>An Endangered Species, David Gower, Simon & Schuster, 2013, p. 33</ref>

==Playing career==
Gower enjoyed one of the most prolific first-class cricket careers in English history, in both domestic and international competitions.<ref name="cricpro"/> Gower's career run total in test matches of 8,231 is the fifth-highest by an English player, behind only [[Alec Stewart]] with 8,463, [[Graham Gooch]] with 8,900, Sir [[Alastair Cook]] with 12,472 and [[Joe Root]] (still active) with 12,777 .<ref name="mostmatches">{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/individual/most_matches_career.html?class=1;id=1;type=team|title=England – Test Matches – Most matches|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123180701/http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/individual/most_matches_career.html?class=1%3Bid%3D1%3Btype%3Dteam|archive-date=23 November 2016}}</ref> He played domestic cricket from 1975 until 1993, largely with [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] until 1989, when he moved to [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]. He was a stalwart batsman at both clubs.<ref name="cricpro"/>

===Domestic career===
Gower made his debut for Leicestershire on 30 July 1975, during that season's County Championship, against [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] at Stanley Park, [[Blackpool]].<ref name="fcmatches">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by David Gower|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122202130/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/First-Class_Matches.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Winning the toss, Lancashire chose to bat first and amassed 259, thanks largely to a century by [[David Lloyd (cricketer)|David Lloyd]], who would later become Gower's co-commentator. Gower, batting at number seven, scored 32 before he was dismissed by [[Ken Shuttleworth (cricketer)|Ken Shuttleworth]], Leicestershire making 321 and taking a first-innings lead. Lloyd made 90 in the second innings as Lancashire declared on 305, with Gower taking one catch to dismiss [[Jack Simmons (cricketer)|Jack Simmons]] for 17. The match, lasting only three days with 100 overs as a maximum limit imposed on both teams for each innings, ended in a draw, with Leicestershire reaching 90 without Gower getting to bat again.<ref name="sc1">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/35/35440.html|title=Lancashire v Leicestershire County Championship 1975|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822082507/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/35/35440.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gower continued to make little impression during the rest of the 1975 season, playing in only two more matches and ending the season with 65 runs at 13.00.<ref name="famatchseason">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/f_Batting_by_Season.html|title=First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by David Gower|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122202306/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/f_Batting_by_Season.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He enjoyed greater success in his debut [[List A]] season, playing in eight matches, scoring 175 runs at 25.00 with two fifties.<ref name="lamatchesseason">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/a_Batting_by_Season.html|title=ListA Batting and Fielding in Each Season by David Gower|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122202221/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1564/a_Batting_by_Season.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gower was retained for the 1976 season, however, playing in a total of seven first-class matches. He enjoyed greater success, with 323 runs at 35.88 including a maiden century, 102[[not out|*]], and a second fifty.<ref name="famatchseason"/> In one-day cricket he played another eight matches, scoring 188 runs at 23.50 with a season–high score of 48.<ref name="lamatchesseason"/> The 1977 season saw Gower play 25 matches, with another career-best of 144*, his only century of the season. He amassed 745 runs at 23.28, with three other half-centuries.<ref name="famatchseason"/> In the one-day format he was far more prolific, playing 24 matches and scoring 867 with a best of 135*, one of two hundreds that year, along with four fifties, all at 48.16.<ref name="lamatchesseason"/> After two first-class matches against [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lankan]] domestic teams over the winter of 1977–78, in which he scored 76 runs at 38.00 in first-class and a score of 22 in the only one-day fixture,<ref name="famatchseason"/><ref name="lamatchesseason"/> Gower topped 1,000 runs in a season for the first time in his career, scoring 1098 runs at 37.86 including two hundreds, five fifties and a call-up to the national team.<ref name="famatchseason"/>

Gower returned to England in 1978 from an international tour with a career-best 200*, forming part of his 957 runs for the season at 41.60, with eight fifties to go with that one hundred.<ref name="famatchseason"/> For his efforts that season, Gower was awarded [[Wisden Cricketer of the Year]].<ref name="5ofyear">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/current/story/209422.html|title=Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year|publisher=ESPNcricinfo– Wisden|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-date=30 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130183302/http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/current/story/209422.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Wisden'' recorded that "The sun scarcely graced the English cricket scene with its presence in 1978, but when it did it seemed to adorn the blond head of David Gower. The young Leicestershire left-hander could do little wrong. He typified a new, precocious breed of stroke-players, imperious and exciting, who added colour and glamour to an otherwise bedraggled English summer."<ref name="wisdenreport">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/154487.html|title=Wisden – 1979 – David Gower|work=Cricinfo |publisher=Wisden and ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113202326/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/154487.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The 1980 season in England saw Gower again top 1,000 runs, with 1142 at 48.89, including five hundreds and a career-best 156*. This was, thus far, the most prolific first-class season of Gower's career.<ref name="famatchseason"/> He also played 21 one-day matches, with 616 runs including another century.<ref name="lamatchesseason"/> He followed up the winter international tour with a prolific performance during the 1981 season, which included the [[1981 Ashes series]]. During this season Gower played 19 matches, scoring a career-best 1,418 runs at 48.89, including one knock of 156*.<ref name="famatchseason"/> Against Essex at Grace Road he shared an unbroken county record second-wicket stand of 289 with [[Chris Balderstone]].

After another successful international tour, Gower returned to England to breach 1,000 runs again with a career-best 1,530 at 46.36, with two hundreds, and scored five further hundreds for only the second time in 1983, when he again topped 1,000 runs, 1,253 this time at 46.40.<ref name="famatchseason"/> He narrowly failed to reach 1,000 runs in the 1984 season, ending with 999 at 35.67, and then scored 1,000 runs, including a then career-best of 215, at 54.70, in 1985. Gower scored one century in England and Australia in the next two seasons, before topping 1,000 runs for three consecutive series, in 1987, 1988 and 1989, with a total of seven centuries including his career-best 228.<ref name="famatchseason"/>

In 1989 he moved to Hampshire, and upon returning from the 1989–90 tour of the West Indies, where he scored only four in one match, he scored 1,263 runs for his new club at 46.77, and he scored 1,142, 1,225 and 1,136 in his final three seasons, ending his last, 1993, with four centuries at 42.07.<ref name="famatchseason"/> This was despite Gower being, at times, so out-of-form that Brian Mason, a personal counsellor, was asked to work with him on his poor form.<ref>Hopps, p. 27.</ref> His final three seasons had seen poorer returns in one-day cricket, with his last century coming in 1992, and with his final season returning 347 runs at 26.69.<ref name="lamatchesseason"/> In his final first-class match,<ref name="fcmatches"/> Gower faced [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] at [[County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford|Chelmsford]] on 16 September 1993. Batting at number four, he made a farewell century of 134 before he was stumped in the first innings, and with future captain [[Nasser Hussain]] and then captain Graham Gooch both making centuries as Essex fell short of Hampshire's 347 with their own innings of 268, Gower came out to bat for the final time in Hampshire's second innings. He made 25. Gooch, at that time the England captain, having succeeded Gower, came back onto the field for Essex to score his second century of the match.<ref name="sclast">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/57/57878.html|title=Essex v Hampshire – Britannic Assurance County Championship 1993|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822083550/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/57/57878.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===International career===
[[File:WCAM Tiger Moth.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Despite a prolific scoring career, Gower is often best remembered for his languid, laid-back approach both on and off the field.<ref name="cricpro"/> In 1991 he buzzed an England warm-up match with a biplane, an action for which he was reprimanded.<ref name="Gibbs, p. 133-134"/>]]
Gower was selected to play for the England Young Cricketers in 1976 against the [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]] equivalent team. Gower played one match, on 27 August, at the [[Queen's Park Oval]] in [[Port of Spain]]. Opening the batting, Gower made only 10 runs in the first innings as England were bowled out for 164; after the West Indies had made 201, he scored 49 in the second innings, stumped off a spin bowler. England were dismissed for 202, and bowled the West Indies out for 143 to take a 22-run victory.<ref name="youthtest">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/36/36539.html|title=West Indies Young Cricketers v England Young Cricketers – England Young Cricketers in West Indies 1976 (Only Test)|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=22 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822091805/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/36/36539.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He made his debut in Test cricket in 1978 at [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]], scoring a boundary via a [[pull shot]] off his first delivery, bowled by Pakistan's [[Liaqat Ali (cricketer, born 1955)|Liaqat Ali]].<ref name="cricpro"/> He went on to make 58 in England's only innings, followed by 56 at [[Lord's]] and 39 at [[Headingley Cricket Ground|Headingley]].<ref name="cricinn">{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/13418.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting;view=innings|title=DI Gower – Batting analysis – Innings List|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=7 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007103804/http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/13418.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting;view=innings|url-status=live}}</ref> On 27 July, Gower played against [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]], scoring his maiden Test hundred, 111 off of 253 deliveries in the first innings, and making 11 in the second. He made scores of 46, 71 and 46 in the rest of the series, the latter including his first Test six, earning him selection for the following Ashes Tests in Australia.<ref name="cricinn"/>

{{quote box
 | quote =Gower might have been more at home in the 1920s or 1930s, cracking a dashing hundred for MCC, the darling of the crowds, before speeding away in a Bugatti and cravat for a night on the town.<ref>Hopps, p. 25.</ref>
 | source =Scyld Berry on Gower, ''[[The Observer]]'', 1984
 | width =35%
 | align =left
}}

Gower made his Ashes début at [[the Gabba]], [[Brisbane]], on 1 December 1978. He made 44 and 48* in the first Test, before making his maiden Ashes hundred, 102 from 221 balls at [[WACA Ground|Perth]]. These were to be his only significant contributions, however, and he saw out the rest of the series with scores of 29, 49, 7, 34, 9 and 21, until a meticulous 65 in the final Test at [[Sydney]].<ref name="cricinn"/> He then faced four Test matches against India over the summer of 1979, beginning the series with a fast-paced 200* at Edgbaston, followed by an 82 at Lord's. Ducks at Leeds and [[The Oval]] followed, however, and he struggled against Australia in the winter of 1979 with 17, 23 and three. A battling 98* at Sydney was again followed by another duck and 11 as Gower's form deserted him. After 16 against India in February 1980, and 20 and one against the West Indies, his form picked up marginally with scores of 45, 35 and 48 against Australia and the West Indies. One more fifty followed at [[Kensington Oval|Bridgetown]]; however, he eventually broke the run of poor form with a hard-fought 154* from 403 deliveries at [[Sabina Park|Kingston]].<ref name="cricinn"/>

[[File:Trent Bridge Test Match, 1981- Alderman to Gower (geograph 2489133).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Gower batting for England in a Test match at [[Trent Bridge]] in 1981. [[Terry Alderman]] is bowling, with [[Ian Botham]] at the bowler's end. There are four slips and two gulleys fielding to the left of [[Rod Marsh]]. Despite one score of 89 during the series, Gower had failed to consistently perform, and thus the Australian team set this very attacking field.]]

Gower's timely revival of form ensured his selection for the [[1981 Ashes series]]; however, apart from an 89 at Lord's, Gower failed to convert the success he was having in the domestic game to the Test matches, with many scores in the twenties or lower.<ref name="youthtest"/> Two scores in the eighties against India, one against Sri Lanka and two seventies against Pakistan over the winter of 1981/82 kept in him contention for an international place, but centuries were lacking in his game. In August 1982, however, Australia received the England touring team at Perth, where Gower made 72 and 28. He followed this with 18, 34 and 60 at Brisbane and [[Adelaide Oval|Adelaide]] before a compact 114 in the second innings of the Adelaide match revived his hundred count.<ref name="youthtest"/> Two more hundreds in the summer of 1983 against New Zealand, and knocks of 152 and 173* against Pakistan in 1984 ensured his place in the side.<ref name="youthtest"/>

Following his 173* in the last Test against Pakistan, Gower suffered another drop in form, managing only three fifties in the next 18 Test innings against the West Indies, Sri Lanka and India. In 1985, however, after low scores at Leeds, Gower enjoyed a "golden season" in the [[1985 Ashes]].<ref name="mh36"/> He scored 86 and 22 at Lord's against Australia, and 166 at [[Trent Bridge]]. Following this, he scored 47 at [[Old Trafford Cricket Ground|Old Trafford]], and then at Edgbaston on 15 August, scored 215 from 314 balls, his career-best score, and immediately followed this with 157 at The Oval.<ref name="youthtest"/> In addition, he forged two partnerships over 300 runs, with 331 scored with [[Tim Robinson (English cricketer)|Tim Robinson]] (148) during Gower's own double-century, and 351 with Gooch's 196 at The Oval.<ref name="mh36"/> He ended the series with 732 runs at 81.33, leading England to a 3–1 victory.

Gower struggled in 1986. His mother had died a week before he left to captain the [[English cricket team in the West Indies in 1985–86|England tour to the West Indies]] which ended in a 5–0 defeat (Gower's second at their hands). Back in England against India, Gower lost the captaincy after two Tests both of which were lost. Retained as a senior player for the New Zealand series and the subsequent Ashes tour, his fortunes began to turn in December with 136 against Australia at Perth.

In 1987 Gower declined to play in that year's [[1987 Cricket World Cup|Cricket World Cup]] for he did not wish to travel, having been on nine successive winter tours since his debut. He never again declined an opportunity to play for England; yet, in 1989, rumours that Gower lacked serious commitment gained currency when, as England captain, he walked out of a press conference claiming he had tickets for the theatre.<ref name="mw">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/243636.html|title=Dropping the pilot... from a great height|last=Williamson|first=Martin|date=8 April 2006|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=6 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106054514/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/243636.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

More controversially, during the [[1990–91 Ashes Tour]] in Australia, England were playing a warm up match in [[Queensland]] when Gower, together with batsman [[John Morris (cricketer, born 1964)|John Morris]], chose to go for a joy-ride in two [[De Havilland Tiger Moth|Tiger Moth]] biplanes without telling the England team management.<ref name="mw2">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/232946.html|title=When Gower's tour took off|last=Williamson|first=Martin|date=14 January 2006|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2009|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113202611/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/232946.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Both had been dismissed earlier that day, and they decided not to remain at the ground to "watch [[Allan Lamb]] and [[Robin Smith (cricketer)|Robin Smith]] flat the Queensland attack before a small crowd".<ref name="g130">Gibbs, p. 130.</ref> For this Gower was fined £1000, a penalty that could have been steeper had he released the water bombs he had also prepared.<ref name="g132">Gibbs, p. 132.</ref> He also posed for press photographs with the plane the next day.

Gooch was enraged, as he was by Gower's mode of dismissal at a crucial stage of one of the Test matches. During the fourth Test at Adelaide, Gower walked out to the crease to the tune of ''[[Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines]]''.<ref name="Gibbs, p. 133-134">Gibbs, p. 133-134.</ref> The last ball before lunch was bowled down the leg side to a leg trap, and all Gower needed to do was block. However, Gower flicked idly at the delivery and was caught at leg-slip. According to [[Mike Atherton]] in his autobiography, "Gooch was at the other end and as he walked off his face was thunderous". This was another example of the strained relationship between the two. His score of nought in the second innings at Melbourne in 1991, when England were chasing quick runs for victory, ended his world record, unbroken sequence, of 119 Test innings without registering a duck.<ref name="Beard"/> Gower scored 73 and 31* in the following matches against Pakistan; however, on 9 August 1992 he was dismissed for one by [[Waqar Younis]] in what would be his last Test match, at The Oval.<ref name="august9">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/124826.html|title=Last day for a languid hero|date=9 August 2003|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-date=31 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231071929/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/124826.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is often thought that Gooch was instrumental in Gower being omitted from the subsequent tour of India.<ref name="cricpro"/><ref name="Gibbs, p. 133-134"/> The selection decision prompted a vote of no confidence in the selectors at the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC), but it was to no avail as Gower was not included.<ref name="g135">Gibbs, p. 135.</ref> In response to Gooch's perceived regime of hard work over talent, Gower retired from international cricket in early 1993.<ref name="cricpro"/><ref name="Gibbs, p. 133-134"/>

===Playing style===
[[File:CampbellBothamWillisErskineGower.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Gower (far right) with fellow commentators Willis and Botham, politicians [[Alastair Campbell]] and [[James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar|James Erskine]]]]
Gower, a left-handed batsmen, played with a dominant top hand and a "most graceful" style of batting<ref name="cricpro"/><ref name="grace">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/394337.html|title=The myth of the elegant left-hander|last=Menon|first=Suresh|date=9 March 2009|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-date=6 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106053601/http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/394337.html|url-status=live}}</ref> though he had a reputation for being aloof. His languid style was often misinterpreted as indifference and a lack of seriousness, an air he bolstered with a variety of "misdemeanours" from apparently "lazy" shots, to practical jokes, even to his preference for blue (not white) socks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wheen |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Wheen |title=The golden years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/apr/01/cricket.features |url-status=live |work=[[The Observer]] |location=London |date=1 April 2007 |access-date=1 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003104338/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/apr/01/cricket.features |archive-date=3 October 2014}}</ref> ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]]'' described him as "fluffy-haired, ethereal-looking" who played "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."<ref name="cricpro"/>

{{quote box
 | quote =At times Gower's habit of getting out just when he ought to have been settling in may have frustrated fans and selectors, but in half-hour highlight-package terms he was worth a dozen [[Allan Border]]s and a hundred [[Geoffrey Boycott]]s.<ref name="euro"/>
 | source=''The Guardian'' on Gower.
 | width =20%
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}}

Gower was repeatedly lambasted by the media as being "laid back" or "nonchalant"<ref name="euro">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/jun/19/euro2004.sport16|title=Why David Gower is the Euro 2004 style icon|last=Pearson|first=Harry|date=19 June 2004|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 March 2009|location=London|archive-date=14 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914004311/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/jun/19/euro2004.sport16|url-status=live}}</ref> with a "devil-may-care" approach some found infuriating, as ''Wisden'' records, "the difference between an exquisite stroke and a nick was little more than an inch" in his style of batting.<ref name="cricpro"/> [[Peter Roebuck]] recorded that "Gower never moves, he drifts", while [[Frances Edmonds]] in the ''[[Daily Express]]'' spoke of Gower in 1985: "Difficult to be more laid back without being actually comatose."<ref>Hopps, p. 26.</ref> Gower himself commented in 1995 in an interview in ''[[The Independent]]'': "I was never destined to be on the ball 100 per cent of the time. I don't have the same ability that Graham Gooch has, to produce something very close to his best every time he plays. There were Test matches where I suddenly felt, at the end of it, 'Well, I wish I'd really been at that one.'"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/brilliant-but-fallible-swashbuckling-but-reserved-david-gower-is-the-sort-of-hero-that-sport-no-longer-admits-and-mores-the-pity-1598329.html|title=Brilliant but fallible, swashbuckling but reserved: David Gower is the sort of hero that sport no longer admits|date=28 August 1995|work=The Independent|access-date=6 April 2010|location=London|first=Giles|last=Smith|archive-date=6 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106180511/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/brilliant-but-fallible-swashbuckling-but-reserved-david-gower-is-the-sort-of-hero-that-sport-no-longer-admits-and-mores-the-pity-1598329.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gower was also a right-arm [[off break]] spin bowler despite batting left-handed, who took one Test wicket at 20.00 out of the six overs he sent down on the rare occasions when he was called upon to bowl. His domestic cricket added another three wickets to give him an overall average of 56.75;<ref name="cricpro"/> however, Martin Williamson, the managing editor of [[ESPNcricinfo]], records Gower and [[James Whitaker (cricketer)|James Whitaker]] as "probably two of the worst bowlers in the country" in 1983.<ref name="recordthat">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/247910.html|title=The record that never was|last=Williamson|first=Martin|date=20 May 2006|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105013602/http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/247910.html|archive-date=5 January 2012}}</ref> On one occasion, during [[Steve O'Shaughnessy (cricketer)|Steve O'Shaughnessy]]'s 35-minute century for [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]], Gower conceded 102 for 0 from nine overs.<ref name="recordthat"/> In the 1986 Test against New Zealand at [[Trent Bridge]], Gower became the only England bowler to be called for [[Throwing (cricket)|throwing]] in a Test in England. Handed the ball by captain [[Mike Gatting]] with New Zealand requiring only one run to win, Gower deliberately threw his first ball to [[Martin Crowe]]. Technically the game ended with the no-ball call, but Crowe hit a four off the ball which was permitted to stand, leaving Gower with the unusual match bowling figures of 0-0-4-0 (1nb).<ref name="gowernb">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/tms/6317311.stm|title=Stump the Bearded Wonder No. 139|last=Frindall|first=Bill|date=31 January 2007|publisher=BBC News|access-date=18 March 2016|archive-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327000545/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/tms/6317311.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the field, Gower is noted by biographer [[Kersi Meher-Homji]] as being a "magnificent outfielder who took amazing catches and threw with accuracy and power to run out the blasé batsman." [[Ambidextrous]] in the field and when bowling, Gower also plays both golf and hockey, writes and kicks right-handed.<ref name="mh36">Meher-Homji, p. 36.</ref> However, he was far less effective as a fielder late in his career, especially in one-day matches, since a chronic shoulder injury – usually described as the shoulder being "thrown out" – meant that he usually bowled the ball in when fielding, rather than throwing it in, significantly reducing the speed of the return and allowing batsmen easy runs.<ref>Discussing fielding with Sir Ian Botham on Sky TV during the Australia-England ODI on 1 July 2012, Gower said "... in my pomp, I had a decent arm. Only when my shoulder went it was much restricted. ... The underarm in tended to be embarrassing."</ref>

==Commentating==
{{quote box
 | quote =It's the old'uns versus the young'uns, Ian and myself versus Nasser and Mike. There's a lot of cross-generational banter as well as pure dressing-room banter. It helps pass the time of day, really.<ref name="skylife">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/249482.html|title=Living the Sky Life|last=Thompson|first=Jenny|year=2006|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113202523/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/249482.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | source =Gower on Sky commentary
 | width =35%
 | align =right
}}
[[File:Sky Team (David Gower cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Gower working for Sky Sports during the 2013 Ashes series]]
After leaving the game, Gower enjoyed a new career as a cricket broadcaster and television personality, including being one of the team captains on the popular [[BBC]] comedy sports quiz ''[[They Think It's All Over (TV series)|They Think It's All Over]]'' from 1995 to 2003. He also presented four series of the [[BBC2]] cricket magazine show, ''Gower's Cricket Monthly'', from 1995 to 1998, and, at the same time was one of the BBC's main cricket commentators. Gower also spent time commentating on several cricket series in [[Australia]] in the 1990s. His commentary for [[Nine Network|Channel Nine]], with his trademark relaxed calls of play and generous attitude to the players and fellow commentators, proved extremely popular with Australian cricket viewing audiences.

Gower was the main presenter of international cricket coverage for [[Sky Sports]] and a regular commentator for many years until 2019 when Sky decided not to renew his contract. Matthew Engel of [[ESPNcricinfo]] wrote that Gower's commentating career has been "so successful that his cricket seemed mere preparation".<ref name="cricpro"/> Gower returned to commentary for [[BT Sport]] in the [[2021–22 Ashes series]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/the-ashes-bt-sign-up-david-gower-to-fill-in-the-gaps-when-michael-vaughan-is-commentating-gv06b6g2v|title=The Ashes: BT sign up David Gower to fill in the gaps when Michael Vaughan is commentating|first=Elizabeth|last=Ammon|work=The Times|date=16 December 2021 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasting/bt-sport-flying-in-david-gower-to-replace-michael-vaughan-ashes-commentary/5166108.article|title=BT Sport flying in David Gower to replace Michael Vaughan Ashes commentary|first=Max|last=Miller|date=2021-12-17|website=Broadcast}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2021/12/16/david-gower-join-bt-sport-commentary-team-final-three-ashes/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2021/12/16/david-gower-join-bt-sport-commentary-team-final-three-ashes/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=David Gower to join BT Sport commentary team for final three Ashes Tests as Michael Vaughan replacement|first=Tim|last=Wigmore|date=16 December 2021|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Alan Tyers of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' wrote that it had been "excellent having Lord Gower back on the cricket commentary: assured, amusing, urbane. And always a steelier character than his insouciance suggested [...] perhaps he might even be enjoying reminding his former employers at Sky that he is still a quality broadcaster."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2021/12/26/bt-sports-cricket-coverage-lands-feet-ditching-fox-sports-ear/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2021/12/26/bt-sports-cricket-coverage-lands-feet-ditching-fox-sports-ear/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=BT Sport's cricket coverage lands on its feet after ditching Fox Sports' ear assault|first=Alan|last=Tyers|date=26 December 2021|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Later life and interests==
Gower is interested in conservation. In 1989, he joined [[Gerald Durrell]] and his wife Lee, along with [[David Attenborough]], in helping to launch the [[World Land Trust]] (then the World Wide Land Conservation Trust). The initial goal of the trust was to purchase rainforest land in [[Belize]] as part of the Programme for Belize. Gower is also a Patron of the [[David Shepherd (artist)|David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation]], and he is vice-president of the [[Nature in Art]] Trust,.<ref name="NatureInArt">{{cite web|url=http://nature-in-art.org.uk/trust.html|title=Nature in Art – Trust|publisher=Nature in Art Trust|access-date=23 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509223727/http://www.nature-in-art.org.uk/trust.html|archive-date=9 May 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1992, he was named an Officer of the Most Excellent [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE).  In 1994, he received an [[Honorary degree|Honorary Master of Arts]] award from [[Loughborough University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Honours archive {{!}} Graduation {{!}} Loughborough University |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/graduation/honorary-graduates/archive/ |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=lboro.ac.uk}}</ref>

Gower is also a director of an Internet wine company.<ref name="old81">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/the_ashes/1482336.stm|title=The class of '81|publisher=BBC News|access-date=11 March 2009|date=14 August 2001|archive-date=4 April 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030404162728/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/the_ashes/1482336.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Gower and his wife, Thorunn, are Patrons of Southampton-based charity Leukaemia Busters. He was also awarded the "Oldie of the Year" award in 1993 by ''[[The Oldie]]'' magazine.<ref name="oldieoftheyear">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/1802157.stm|title=Eric Sykes wins Oldie award|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2 April 2009|date=5 February 2002|archive-date=20 September 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030920164851/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/1802157.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.theoldie.co.uk/detail.php?item_id=207&page_id=7&keyword=oldie%20of%20the%20year] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929032858/http://www.theoldie.co.uk/detail.php?item_id=207&page_id=7&keyword=oldie%20of%20the%20year|date=29 September 2011}}</ref> He is the author of a number of written works on cricket, including ''Gower: The Autobiography'' with ''[[The Independent]]'' journalist Martin Johnson in 1992, ''David Gower: With Time to Spare'' with Alan Lee in 1995 and ''Can't Bat, Can't Bowl, Can't Field'' also with Johnson.<ref name="amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=david+gower&x=0&y=0|title=Amazon written works by David Gower|publisher=Amazon|access-date=4 April 2009}}</ref> In 2009, Gower was inducted into the [[ICC Hall of Fame]].<ref name="icchalloffame">{{cite web|url=http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/the-icc/icc_centenary.php|title=ICC Hall of Fame|publisher=ICC|access-date=3 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716004411/http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/the-icc/icc_centenary.php|archive-date=16 July 2009}}</ref>

In August 2014, Gower was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' opposing [[Scottish independence]] in the run-up to September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-date=17 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817131736/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of international cricket centuries by David Gower]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
'''Printed'''
* Gibbs, Barry. ''My Cricket Journey'' (Wakefield Press, 2001) {{ISBN|1-86254-569-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Gower|first=David|author2=Johnson, Martin|title=Gower: The Autobiography|publisher=Fontana|location=London|year=1993|isbn=0-00-637964-8}}
* Hopps, David. ''A century of great cricket quotes''' (Robson, 2000) {{ISBN|1-86105-346-0}}
* Meher-Homji, Kersi. ''Heroes of 100 Tests'' (Rosenburg Publishing, 2003) {{ISBN|1-877058-11-4}}
'''Website'''
* {{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/446731.html|title=The Best I've Watched: David Gower's Perth 72, 1982|last=Ryan|first=Christian|publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]]}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|David Gower}}
* {{Cricinfo|id=13418}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0332973|name=David Gower}}
* [https://www.david-gower.com/ David Gower – Official website]
* [https://twitter.com/David215Gower/ David Gower – Twitter]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gower, David}}
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