When the wheels fall off, it’s like a lethal virus spreading through a squad, says David Gower

David Gower: Classy on and off the field

DAVID Ivon Gower didn’t just score over 11,000 runs for England, he did so with flamboyance that isn’t a feature of every batsman who makes it to the highest level.
Classy as a batsman, classy as a person too. That’s Gower. Besides, he has been a dear friend from England’s 1984-1985 tour of India, when he was the captain.
Gower, who has made it to the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Hall of Fame, is currently on vacation in France, near St-Tropez.
In a wonderful gesture, Gower nevertheless took time off on Saturday evening to answer a range of Qs.
Excerpts…
Q: Only one win in the first five matches… Stunned by England’s performance, or the lack of it, in World Cup 2023 or is there a better description?
A: Stunned, yes. Astounded. Perplexed. Bemused. Take your pick!
Q: What do you think derailed the defending champions from the beginning itself, when teams normally look to build momentum?
A: Impossible to know (what went on within). I was watching the same team play New Zealand at home as recently as last month and it looked in fine fettle. I recall an astounding one-off sort of innings that Ben Stokes played at The Oval – 182 off 124 balls. That sort of brilliance and confidence got sorely missed at the start of this World Cup. Since then, it has been an incredibly slippery slope. In skiing terms, a horrible black run for England.
Q: For failures, where does the proverbial buck stop?
A: Well, a captain, in many ways, is only as good as his team. If they collectively fail, is it his fault or theirs? Invariably, fingers point at the captain when the results go so badly wrong. But, then, one has to wonder who might take on the task if the axe is indeed wielded? In a different context, I’ve told you captaincy is challenging, but also addictive.
Q: When a team is struggling, who needs to play the biggest role in lifting confidence – captain or the leadership group as a whole?
A: Everyone has to play a part. Clearly, the onus is on the leadership group to inspire. But each individual has to take responsibility for his contribution both in what happens on the field and in terms of lifting spirits off it. As we all know, it’s easy when everyone is playing well and the team is winning. As soon as the nuts come loose and, then, the wheels start to fall off, it’s like a lethal virus spreading through a squad. Very tough to stop.
Q: Jos Buttler, the England captain, won the T20 World Cup less than a year ago… Yes, the 50-over format is different, but his own performances have been below par going into the India match… Would you like to say something?
A: Jos led from the front (in Australia), suggesting that the captaincy lay easily on his shoulders. In this World Cup, it has gone very much the other way. A dramatic change.
Q: I assume England featured in your four most likely semi-finalists before the World Cup began…
A: My uneducated guess was that India, England, Australia and New Zealand might reach the last-four stage. Now, I would swap England for South Africa.
Q: After a pathetic World Cup in 2015, England were champions in the very next edition – at home, four years ago… Entirely the result of an enthralling brand of cricket encouraged by the then captain, Eoin Morgan?
A: One hundred per cent! Morgan was given the hospital pass of the captaincy only just before the 2015 edition. England were poor then, but Morgan initiated one of the most remarkable transformations in world sport. Despite England now setting trends rather than lamely following them, it was still only by the “barest of margins,” to quote the excellent Ian Smith, that England, after 44 years of trying, held the trophy aloft.
Q: Where would you rank Morgan as captain?
A: Morgan, in my book, is the ultimate one-day captain… Even rivalling the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Q: Thoughts on the India vs England match, on Sunday?
A: The way India and England are playing at the moment, one can logically predict only one thing – and it’s not good news for England. Even if India were to have a bad day, it would most likely not affect their standing in the tournament. In any case, England isn’t going to be one of the teams to challenge India at the business end of this World Cup. India have been mightily impressive, undeterred by the responsibility of being hosts and favourites.
Q: You’ve paid India a nice compliment…
A: It’s a team enjoying home conditions and huge support. Virat Kohli, for one, is playing fantastic cricket and setting a shining example. We have, over the last decade, seen India develop in all departments. All bases are covered.
Q: The team of World Cup 2023? Afghanistan? Of course, The Netherlands have also been impressive…
A: I watched Afghanistan play Pakistan in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago… It’s a team that relies on the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rashid Khan to galvanise them. So, when Gurbaz has one of his brilliant days at the top of the order, he inspires others around him. Belief levels rise and the players have the chance to register worthy wins such as the ones against England and Pakistan. Afghanistan’s success has been one of the great stories of cricket in the last decade… Talking of The Netherlands, seems like Afghanistan have inspired them… Wins over two Test-playing nations.
Q: A most bizarre/hilarious story emerging in this World Cup has been the diet of a gasping Pakistan… While Wasim Akram went ballistic (“Looks like these guys are eating eight kilos of mutton everyday… Where’s the fitness?”), opener Imam ul-Haq’s assertion that more of “proteins” are needed and not “carbs” made headlines too. Amused?
A: Much though I love and respect Wasim, I think Pakistan’s problems, a lesser version of England’s in as much as Pakistan have at least been in contention in the matches they have lost, are linked to form, the balance of the team, injuries and that confidence bit rather more than details of diet.
Q: Are you concerned that this World Cup has seen players raise non-cricket issues? Like Mohammed Rizwan dedicating his unbeaten 131 against Sri Lanka to “…Our brothers and sisters in Gaza…” in a post on X and Afghanistan’s MoM against Pakistan, Ibrahim Zadran, dedicating his award to refugees from his country forced to leave Pakistan…
A: I am miles away from all that and unaware of the specifics. The bigger concerns I am reading about are on the future of the 50-over format and the apparently poor organisation of the tournament for the travelling fans. I would like the format to remain and for fans anywhere in the world, and from anywhere in the world, to be treated with respect. Television might be a wonderful source of income both directly and indirectly, but it is the spectators who come to the ground and provide the atmosphere that makes a cricket match a true event. A World Cup should be making every effort to keep the fans happy. Actually, more than happy… Those who are willing to spend a lot of money to support their teams.
Q: Going back to comments by players on sensitive issues… How best can it be curbed?
A: The responsibility lies with the ICC and its member Boards. Personally, however, I don’t have a problem with players speaking on issues.
Q: Just to turn the clock back… You were a teenager when the first World Cup was played, in 1975. Do you remember the general response and your own reaction to a new format at the International level?
A: I was 18 and in my first full year of professional cricket. That first World Cup final, the West Indies vs Australia, was awesome. The West Indies won, but both finalists put on a fabulous show. It was hugely exciting and intoxicating.
Q: By the time the next World Cup came, in 1979, you were an England player and made your Cup debut in that edition… England made the final, losing to the defending champions, the West Indies… What was the strategy like almost half-a-century ago?
A: Of course, things were very different then… In the end, the West Indies won comfortably enough, but one more wicket before (Sir) Viv Richards and Collis King cut loose and the result could have been different. Trying to chase what, by the standards of the day (in 60 overs, the West Indies totalled 286 for nine), was a sizeable target was always going to be tough. Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott laid a solid foundation, but too slowly, and by the time we, in the middle order came, we had to somehow up the pace against that famed attack! I tried to step away and force Joel Garner through the off side, missed, and was bowled for zero. Not my favourite memory!
Q: Did you tweak your batting to meet the requirements of the one-day format?
A: I was a stroke-player and had the tools for ODIs in that era. If I played well, I made runs at good pace.
Q: You played in the 1983 World Cup as well. Then, England lost to Kapil Dev’s India in the semi-final. Am curious… How did England approach that match? Was India seen as an upstart or a quality opponent?
A: Any opponent in a semi-final has to be respected. We’d played great cricket throughout and I had been in great form myself (384 runs, highest in the 1983 edition). We took to the match confident that if we replicated the form thus far we could and should win. The Old Trafford pitch turned out to be low and slow… That said, the simple truth is India handled the conditions better, proving the truism that one poor day like that is costly. Even if we had made it to the final, the West Indies would again have been the favourites – like they were against India – and whether we had the nous to upset them, as India did, we will never know.
Q: One more, for now… Cricket lost one of its greats, Bishan Singh Bedi, a few days ago. Any memories?
A: I first played against Bish for Leicestershire vs Northamptonshire and lasted two balls, caught at short leg. It was the first time I’d played against a quality spinner and the loop and bounce wasn’t anything that I’d experienced before. About four years later, in 1979, I was facing Bish in the Test series against India. I had a much greater understanding of how to play spin. It was often said about Bish that he would applaud you if you succeeded in taking a risk against him and that was perfectly true. By all means use your feet and hit him over the top, but take the applause and, then, be wary. Bish would still back his skills and variations to get you later!


Concluding part of interview in next Blog.