Gower's batting is like a classical dance, each step and each hand movement seems to be co-ordinated and set to music. He must spiritually be a West Indian, no straight white guy can move so gracefully :)
Class player - it was all so effortless. He would come in and 15 minutes later he would have 40 on the board without breaking a sweat. Would have been good to see him against Warne.
Some nice shots, but the key is in the commentary. In a nearly three minute highlight video, he plays one shot off the front foot. Everything else is short, or short and wide. Good knock, but rubbish bowling.
You're right, but any century at the WACA tends to be predominantly back foot scoring - because of the bounce, players tend not to drive much, plus you can often pull it off a length.
@thecornishhymnal Thats more to do with bowlers pitching it too short at the WACA. The margin for error is tighter there. Kim Hughes was a sublime straight driver there and Geoff Marsh's 355* on that ground had a lot of 'unfieldable' drives.
One of the classiest batsman and my all time favorite!
His cover drive and pull shot, no one can play like him.
In training my coach used to say all the time, you wanna learn to leg glance (flick) like Gavasker, loft over the mid-wicket like Richards and form a cover drive like Gower.
One of the classiest batsman and my all time favorite!
His cover drive and pull shot, no one can play like him.
In training my coach used to say all the time, you wanna leg glance (flick) like Gavasker, loft over the mid-wicket like Richards and form a cover drive like Gower.
Ash, I'd like to know why you don't think Gower is revered in that way. he certainly is in my mind and I'm hardly alone. Remember, that game isn't just about statistics. look at the way he plays, and the games he scored runs in.
Shame there's not more Gower brilliance on here. He was their best batsman when Gooch wasn't around and scored runs off the best bowlers and not just soft stuff like this 86 ozz team. Gower made it look so easy that it was annoying when he got out to a poor shot.
Gower at his best was the most elegant batsman to ever play cricket IMO.
I think he underacheived too. He had the talent & number of matches to get 10,000 runs in his career but he often had 1 lapse of concentration during an innings which cost him. He got himself out a lot.
Firstly..ash123431, as much as I loved watching Mark Waugh batting he will always be a right handed David Gower.
Secondly..he was a genius. I've seen him bat live on 3 occasions and everytime he got out to some of the worst strokes a batsman can possibly play. Yet, he kept you comming back for more. The game lost it's class when he retired
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David Gower was probably one of the biggest underachievers in the game.He could easily have gone on to become one of the greatest ever batsman the game has seen.
The tragedy of David Gower was that he was out of tune with the mores. People pointed to his shortcomings, specifically his inconsistency, however it is clear that Dexter & Gooch colluded to stifle what they perceived to be a clique, in a clear demonstration of bureaucratic prowess. This period saw the exodus of Gower, Lamb and Botham, to the general detriment of world cricket. It is to Gower's credit that he is a man of diverse interests.
I entirely agree with everything you say. What makes it rather ironic is that Dexter was a very similar player to Gower (perhaps without the razor touch). I'm actually inclined to think it wasn't Gooch/Dexter that purged him, but Gooch/'The 90s colourless pro zeitgeist'! The influence of soccer, in other words.
You are not at all mad to say it. Consumerism and what has become globalisation, which has seen mass spectator sports thrive and other less lucrative ones decline was beginning at this time. As for Goochie, I adored him as a batsman, but despite his many innovations, he sadly lacked as a captain.
And as for the comments comparing those days with these days, it is impossible to make a comparison. We simply will never know how the players of the eighties, or thirties for that matter (like Bradman), would get on in modern times and vice versa. I bet uncovered pitches were a bitch to bat on way back when and would like to see some of our modern flat track bullies coping in those conditions, but we never will, you simply cannot compare eras.
Thanks for this video!! I am Indian, but Gower has been my all-time fav cricketer since I was a kid. What England would give to have another Gower against the Aussies. Please post more Gower masterclasses!!
Thank you for posting this video. Gower was the most elegent batsman ever....look at the ease with which he is pulling and cutting here..If you remember, Geoff Lawson was quite fast and it was extremely difficult to play Bruce Reid.
He never really seemed to decline - hit 3 centuries in his last 10 tests but didn't get on with Gooch and was not selected for the 1993 tour of India, so retired there and then.
He was a very elegant player - maybe because in this vid he is mostly pulling the ball. He had a particularly dreamy cover drive. An average of 44 in the 1980's is worth 50+ easily against todays bowlers.
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Sorry, but as much as I'm a fan of Gower, he would struggle in todays game, along with other players of that period. The game has moved on since then.
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What game do you watch? Todays bowlers bowl faster on better wickets to better batsmen. Reverse Swing? Sport is always moving on to new higher levels.
As i said we'll agree to disagree. The top 5 sides in the world had much better bowling attacks back then & there were no Zimbabwe or Bangladesh to bolster averages.
Not to mention boundary ropes 10 metres inside the fence, better protective gear, more restrictive rules on short-pitched bowling, and, most importantly, bats that are twice as thick as they were before the 90s.
Everything is better suited to batsmen in the modern age.
Total rubbish. Let's list the fast bowlers that Gower faced during his career: Marshall, Holding, Croft, Ambrose, Walsh, Wasim, Waqar, Lillee, Thomson, Hadlee, Imran, Kapil Dev.
Apart from Dale Steyn, I can't think of any other fast bowler in today's game that can be mentioned in the same breath.
Today's bowlers bowl faster than Thomson, Holding, Marshall, Waqar, Imran etc?? I think not.
@whouster I think umpiring and spin-bowling standards (Warne, Murali, Kumble) have improved in the past 20 years. That apart, the 70s and the 80s were better in all aspects.
Great fast bowlers as you mentioned and batsmen who'd not just score centuries on flat-tracks. They had very good footwork and played percentage cricket. The sportsmanspirit was genuine and players used to play for the love of the game.
That was before cricket was prostituted by Stanford, Lalit Modi and co.
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i always hear people talk about how elegent gower was but in this video he looks like a bifer, and his technique doesnt even look eligent, how he managed to average 44 ill never know
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He bats in such an elegant effortless way the way he plays the pull shot in such a lush distguinished manner just makes it all look too easy.
gammergq 3 months ago
Comment removed
gammergq 3 months ago
Chris Matthews you FAIL!
robelinda2 5 months ago
GENIUS
darkmossie633 7 months ago
Such an elegant and classy batsman. He possessed the best cover drive I have ever seen.
tomd2103 8 months ago
Most elegant left hand batsman.
rajeevsengupta 8 months ago
the boundary ropes are so huge....
zorinkima 11 months ago
Gower's batting is like a classical dance, each step and each hand movement seems to be co-ordinated and set to music. He must spiritually be a West Indian, no straight white guy can move so gracefully :)
ghabcdef 1 year ago
the most laid back stylish batsman ever!
willukus 1 year ago
Wow... even elegant in dismissal!!
keithmilbank 1 year ago
Class player - it was all so effortless. He would come in and 15 minutes later he would have 40 on the board without breaking a sweat. Would have been good to see him against Warne.
Buggsy61 1 year ago
Some nice shots, but the key is in the commentary. In a nearly three minute highlight video, he plays one shot off the front foot. Everything else is short, or short and wide. Good knock, but rubbish bowling.
onoeoner 1 year ago
@onoeoner
You're right, but any century at the WACA tends to be predominantly back foot scoring - because of the bounce, players tend not to drive much, plus you can often pull it off a length.
thecornishhymnal 1 year ago
@thecornishhymnal Thats more to do with bowlers pitching it too short at the WACA. The margin for error is tighter there. Kim Hughes was a sublime straight driver there and Geoff Marsh's 355* on that ground had a lot of 'unfieldable' drives.
roostewrum 1 year ago
just class... timing incredible
slugworth28 1 year ago
David Gower is the most elegant English batsmen I have seen in 30 years of watching this great game of cricket.
ssrabs 1 year ago
Great player
OzTwanger 1 year ago
When is Tendulkar's Perth innings of 92 coming up mate?
deepakstylo 1 year ago
What a marvellous batsman he was.
ludocrat 1 year ago
haha. tony greig commentated when gower played?
chadsexinton 1 year ago 3
@chadsexinton yeah he's been on for years
chrish12345 1 year ago
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One of the classiest batsman and my all time favorite!
His cover drive and pull shot, no one can play like him.
In training my coach used to say all the time, you wanna learn to leg glance (flick) like Gavasker, loft over the mid-wicket like Richards and form a cover drive like Gower.
iteration9th 1 year ago
One of the classiest batsman and my all time favorite!
His cover drive and pull shot, no one can play like him.
In training my coach used to say all the time, you wanna leg glance (flick) like Gavasker, loft over the mid-wicket like Richards and form a cover drive like Gower.
iteration9th 1 year ago
gower is very good, however the bowling here is very mediocre. it seems alot slower than modern day quick bowlers
hazelwood474 1 year ago
Looks like waiting for the bad ball works :)
charliebad 1 year ago
dam this is old
ghostzulu 2 years ago
Such a graceful batsman!!
saranyan1 2 years ago 4
The most Beautiful batsmen to watch in the last 3 decades, A gower hundred is worth every penny at the gates !
kanand00 2 years ago 7
The most elegant batsman of the modern era.
iblob666 2 years ago 5
Agree. He never had to hit the ball too hard as he timed it so well.
Eltoniobonio 2 years ago
He is really class act,really a poetry in his batting,specially in cut shot,pull ,cover drive,all indian will love his beautiful batting.
symphonygethesh 2 years ago 4
Ha, here's our no.3 for the Oval - Ashes 2009
kipps2 2 years ago 2
Yep and Bumble to open with Cook and Both to take Flintoffs place.
MrAlongman 2 years ago
Whats the highest innings ever for an English batsman and who by?
loderchris 2 years ago
Len Hutton hit 364 in 1938, beating Wally Hammond's record. Also Gooch hit 333 against the Indians I think.
Beautiful work from Gower by the way
HitMeQuick 2 years ago 2
There was poetry in Gower's batting.Please post some more Gower innings
neo1mil2 2 years ago 2
I agree, the world of cricket will never see another like him
Who would you rather see score a hundred in the history of televised cricket?
A true artist, whose average was great and without playing against incredible West Indies attack for most of his career, would have been a lot higher
a must watch video for young left handers
with god-given talent and flair
darkmossie633 2 years ago 4
Ash, I'd like to know why you don't think Gower is revered in that way. he certainly is in my mind and I'm hardly alone. Remember, that game isn't just about statistics. look at the way he plays, and the games he scored runs in.
Parrock1 2 years ago 5
Shame there's not more Gower brilliance on here. He was their best batsman when Gooch wasn't around and scored runs off the best bowlers and not just soft stuff like this 86 ozz team. Gower made it look so easy that it was annoying when he got out to a poor shot.
stellaviolens 3 years ago
damn, tony greg was commentating even back then.
chadsexinton 3 years ago 4
benaud was commentating in black and white tv days..
maxlogica 2 years ago
Gower at his best was the most elegant batsman to ever play cricket IMO.
I think he underacheived too. He had the talent & number of matches to get 10,000 runs in his career but he often had 1 lapse of concentration during an innings which cost him. He got himself out a lot.
rivera213 3 years ago 4
Firstly..ash123431, as much as I loved watching Mark Waugh batting he will always be a right handed David Gower.
Secondly..he was a genius. I've seen him bat live on 3 occasions and everytime he got out to some of the worst strokes a batsman can possibly play. Yet, he kept you comming back for more. The game lost it's class when he retired
cancricfan 3 years ago
Gower in full flow was pure poetry.....
3SQNDan 3 years ago 14
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Reminds me of a left handed Mark Waugh
ash123431 3 years ago
No, Mark Waugh is a right handed version of David Gower!
beano1eye 3 years ago 12
@beano1eye - agreed! But Gower played the pull and the hook better than Waugh, IMHO. Nice comparison though!
theeviltwaz 7 months ago
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David Gower was probably one of the biggest underachievers in the game.He could easily have gone on to become one of the greatest ever batsman the game has seen.
ash123431 3 years ago
I don't think he did too badly - he is the 4th greatest ODI batsman ever on the ICC rankings!
swiss87 3 years ago 2
Seeing that again reminds of what a natural genius he was, pure class in any era.
deniscaff 3 years ago 4
Of all the batsmen you'll see David Gower will make batting look the easiest. at times he looks bored!
whangaz100 4 years ago
Gower , Richards , Miandad , Crowe, Lamb , Chappel, to name a few were the batsmen of the 80's .
saintandrews83 4 years ago
Ian and Greg Chappell both delivered their best in 1970s NOT 80s.
Perhaps the name you were looking for was Allan Border there :)
Imrankniazi 2 years ago
this is effortless batting. pure class.
heavyatheart 4 years ago 3
Modern day WACA looks very different to this.
umangu 4 years ago
The tragedy of David Gower was that he was out of tune with the mores. People pointed to his shortcomings, specifically his inconsistency, however it is clear that Dexter & Gooch colluded to stifle what they perceived to be a clique, in a clear demonstration of bureaucratic prowess. This period saw the exodus of Gower, Lamb and Botham, to the general detriment of world cricket. It is to Gower's credit that he is a man of diverse interests.
bobbyBollyfan 4 years ago 4
I entirely agree with everything you say. What makes it rather ironic is that Dexter was a very similar player to Gower (perhaps without the razor touch). I'm actually inclined to think it wasn't Gooch/Dexter that purged him, but Gooch/'The 90s colourless pro zeitgeist'! The influence of soccer, in other words.
I am probably mad to say it.
ludocrat 4 years ago 3
You are not at all mad to say it. Consumerism and what has become globalisation, which has seen mass spectator sports thrive and other less lucrative ones decline was beginning at this time. As for Goochie, I adored him as a batsman, but despite his many innovations, he sadly lacked as a captain.
bobbyBollyfan 4 years ago 2
Typical Gower, elegant stroke play ended by a soft shot.
nascarkiwi29 4 years ago 2
And as for the comments comparing those days with these days, it is impossible to make a comparison. We simply will never know how the players of the eighties, or thirties for that matter (like Bradman), would get on in modern times and vice versa. I bet uncovered pitches were a bitch to bat on way back when and would like to see some of our modern flat track bullies coping in those conditions, but we never will, you simply cannot compare eras.
nascarkiwi29 4 years ago 4
Yeah, even Gower said that himself
swiv2d 4 years ago
Thanks for this video!! I am Indian, but Gower has been my all-time fav cricketer since I was a kid. What England would give to have another Gower against the Aussies. Please post more Gower masterclasses!!
vighnaharta 4 years ago 6
He does like clipping it down the leg side doesn't he.
SGGH12 4 years ago
gilesy face, is talking rubbish, Gower owns most of the batsmen in todays game.
flymogram 4 years ago 3
I agree with madbob. Batsmen of that era had a harder time against more quality bowlers.
gstorrow 5 years ago 5
Thank you for posting this video. Gower was the most elegent batsman ever....look at the ease with which he is pulling and cutting here..If you remember, Geoff Lawson was quite fast and it was extremely difficult to play Bruce Reid.
skr346 5 years ago
Of course this also brings back memories of Chris Matthews keeping them on the pitch.
MHJanson 5 years ago
Is it fair to say that he was just starting to be on the downside of his career in this period?
MHJanson 5 years ago
He never really seemed to decline - hit 3 centuries in his last 10 tests but didn't get on with Gooch and was not selected for the 1993 tour of India, so retired there and then.
madbob73 5 years ago
He was a very elegant player - maybe because in this vid he is mostly pulling the ball. He had a particularly dreamy cover drive. An average of 44 in the 1980's is worth 50+ easily against todays bowlers.
madbob73 5 years ago
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Sorry, but as much as I'm a fan of Gower, he would struggle in todays game, along with other players of that period. The game has moved on since then.
gilesyface 5 years ago
Well, we'll have to agree to disagree. Todays bowling stocks are mediocre IMO
madbob73 5 years ago
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What game do you watch? Todays bowlers bowl faster on better wickets to better batsmen. Reverse Swing? Sport is always moving on to new higher levels.
gilesyface 5 years ago
As i said we'll agree to disagree. The top 5 sides in the world had much better bowling attacks back then & there were no Zimbabwe or Bangladesh to bolster averages.
madbob73 5 years ago 3
I certainly agree about Bangladesh and Zimbabwe!
gilesyface 5 years ago
@gilesyface
Better wickets? Yeah, better wickets for batsmen.
Not to mention boundary ropes 10 metres inside the fence, better protective gear, more restrictive rules on short-pitched bowling, and, most importantly, bats that are twice as thick as they were before the 90s.
Everything is better suited to batsmen in the modern age.
mymentor 1 year ago
@gilesyface
Total rubbish. Let's list the fast bowlers that Gower faced during his career: Marshall, Holding, Croft, Ambrose, Walsh, Wasim, Waqar, Lillee, Thomson, Hadlee, Imran, Kapil Dev.
Apart from Dale Steyn, I can't think of any other fast bowler in today's game that can be mentioned in the same breath.
Today's bowlers bowl faster than Thomson, Holding, Marshall, Waqar, Imran etc?? I think not.
whouster 1 year ago 4
@whouster I think umpiring and spin-bowling standards (Warne, Murali, Kumble) have improved in the past 20 years. That apart, the 70s and the 80s were better in all aspects.
Great fast bowlers as you mentioned and batsmen who'd not just score centuries on flat-tracks. They had very good footwork and played percentage cricket. The sportsmanspirit was genuine and players used to play for the love of the game.
That was before cricket was prostituted by Stanford, Lalit Modi and co.
TheAdventurer1988 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
i always hear people talk about how elegent gower was but in this video he looks like a bifer, and his technique doesnt even look eligent, how he managed to average 44 ill never know
super14strauss 5 years ago