The Profile
A cricket career with numbers to match the reputation.
David Gower batted like nobody else. He was left-handed, he was languid almost to the point of parody, and when he was in form the ball seemed to find the boundary without any visible effort on his part. He averaged 44 in Test cricket during an era when bowling attacks were terrifying, and his cover drive and leg glance remain masterclass material for young batsmen forty years later.
He captained England with mixed results but led an Ashes winning side in 1985 and took the team to the semi finals of the 1992 World Cup. The highs were very high and the lows usually involved him being unfairly blamed for things that were systemic rather than personal. He was never a shouter. That got read as a lack of leadership by some. Others knew better.
Post-playing he moved into broadcasting and was a fixture of Sky Sports cricket coverage for twenty years, where his commentary was as graceful as his batting. He has written thoughtfully about the game, been involved in cricket administration, and occasionally flown vintage aircraft low over English cricket grounds, which is the kind of thing you can only really do when you are David Gower.
“People talk about timing as if it was something you could train. You either had it or you worked very hard to hide that you did not.”
Career highlights
- 117 Test matches for England, 18 centuries
- England captain, 1982 to 1989
- Ashes winning captain, 1985
- 8,231 Test runs
- OBE for services to cricket
- Sky Sports cricket commentator, 2000 to 2020
First hand
David Gower at Steam
David is a two-time Steam speaker. His April 2025 appearance was a joint event with Graham Gooch, and the wine pairings he requested for his own table were as meticulous as his cover drives.