Edgbaston Legends - David Gower

Edgbaston Legends - David Gower

David Gower enjoyed a long career of run-scoring with Leicestershire, England and Hampshire

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Prolific left-hand batsman David Gower was one of the most elegant English batsman to have played the game and he thoroughly enjoyed batting at Edgbaston.

He memorably struck the first ball he received in Test cricket for four as if making a statement of intent and followed it up by racking up 8,231 runs in Tests at an average of 44.25.

Gower is the leading run-scorer in Test matches at Edgbaston, having accumulated 767 in 14 innings, including a fluent unbeaten 200 against India in 1979. Remarkably, that wasn’t his highest score at the ground as he registered 215 against Australia in an Ashes contest in 1985, a knock that helped his side to an innings win – all that coming as he was captaining the side to boot.

He led England with distinction between 1983 and 1986 and then a second spell in 1989, captaining the side to Ashes success in 1985. Gower holds a record in managing to go 119 consecutive innings without registering a duck.

His laid-back style at the crease might have had its detractors, but he was a joy to watch when in full flow and with more than 35,000 runs in both forms of the game he played, there is no doubt his record stands up to scrutiny.

He is one of England’s most capped players with 117 Tests and 114 One-Day Internationals and he also captained Leicestershire between 1984 and 1989 before moving to Hampshire, where he ended his career in 1993.