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How would you rate this English opener - Graham Gooch?
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Ab Fan
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England's second best post war opener IMO only behind Goeff Boycott and slightly ahead of Alastair Cook.
Harsh Thakor
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After the war England's greatest opening batsmen and arguably the best opening batsmen against express pace bowling.No opening batsmen played the greatest West Indian pace attack better including Sunil Gavaskar.I rate him above Geoff Boycott.Gooch averaged over 57 in 1981 with 2 centuries including a 153 at Kingston and a116 at Barbados .Significvantly he scored them on 2 of the fastest wickets.In 1991 against, the great quartet of the Calypos he scored arguably the best century ever when scoring 154 in the 2nd innings at Leeds.Gooch also averaged around 47 facing the duo of Wasim and Waqar in 1992.
No opening batsmen was so successful against express pace.I mantain that against the great Calypos quartet Gooch overshadowed Gavaskar..In 1981-82 he also championed the cause against spin in India which he repeated in 1990 at home with a Bradmanesque performance of a record 752 run sin a 3 test rubber.
To me after Len Hutton England's best post-war batsmen edging Dexter,Cowdrey,Gower, Pieterson, Barrington and Boycott.Even Peter May was not as combative against great pace.Rtaed at 44th place amongst the top 100 cricketers of all bu Cristopher Martin Jenkins.Virtually a dead heat between Gooch and Greenidge overall.
No opening batsmen was so successful against express pace.I mantain that against the great Calypos quartet Gooch overshadowed Gavaskar..In 1981-82 he also championed the cause against spin in India which he repeated in 1990 at home with a Bradmanesque performance of a record 752 run sin a 3 test rubber.
To me after Len Hutton England's best post-war batsmen edging Dexter,Cowdrey,Gower, Pieterson, Barrington and Boycott.Even Peter May was not as combative against great pace.Rtaed at 44th place amongst the top 100 cricketers of all bu Cristopher Martin Jenkins.Virtually a dead heat between Gooch and Greenidge overall.
Ab Fan
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Also shows that his avg is simply not a write measure to judge his ability.
Ab Fan
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Avg of 42
Harsh Thakor
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Arguably amongst the top 5 batsmen of all who averaged under 50 in test cricket.
Robert
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He had an excellent record against WI - five centuries I think, versus the best ever fast attack. His innings on the Headingley horro track under total overcast against them where he carried his bat was the best innings I ever saw.
He holds the test run aggregate for a single match - 333 and 118* IIRC.
Oddly he could lose confidence easilty. Lillee sorted him out, but then Lillee tended to do that to top batters. He once gave up his place when Pakistan came in 1987. How we needed him as they won the series. Yet he returned that autumn and scored a century against the ROW side containing Imran and Qadir.
It is an enduring shame that he lost three peak years because he toured with the SAB 'rebel' side, and took the political flak as skipper because the other players refused to play under Boycott. I wonder how many more runs he would have piled up for England? So in the summers of 1982, 1983 and 1984 he smashed County attacks all over England and Wales. England were desperate for his help against WI in the Blackwash of 1984.
He holds the test run aggregate for a single match - 333 and 118* IIRC.
Oddly he could lose confidence easilty. Lillee sorted him out, but then Lillee tended to do that to top batters. He once gave up his place when Pakistan came in 1987. How we needed him as they won the series. Yet he returned that autumn and scored a century against the ROW side containing Imran and Qadir.
It is an enduring shame that he lost three peak years because he toured with the SAB 'rebel' side, and took the political flak as skipper because the other players refused to play under Boycott. I wonder how many more runs he would have piled up for England? So in the summers of 1982, 1983 and 1984 he smashed County attacks all over England and Wales. England were desperate for his help against WI in the Blackwash of 1984.
KingKhanWC
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Am I right in thinking he had a very unusual stance, slightly open with the bat raised half way? I know this is not unusual in limited overs cricket today but in those days was it different to the rest?
I used to watch videos of Gooch when I started playing cricket, learned a lot from him especially how he got into the correct position for the type of ball coming to him.
Graham Gooch was a fantastic opener. He was great against spin as well. One of the 4 batsmen to average 50 in the 90's (he played 45 tests in the 90's). He is surely ahead of Cook and Hayden. Gooch was an aggressive player as well.
Ab Fan
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Yes, Will pick Gooch ahead of both Cook and Hayden.More all round than these two.Those two are better in Asia but Gooch is so far ahead outside Asia that this isn't even funny.
The_Odd_One
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Excellent opener. Could play both swing and spin.
What would be your top 5 post war openers??
Robert
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Exactly so. He came into the England side at #4 against Lillee & Thomson with an orthodox stance. Latterly he converted to opener and used the upright stance against WI.
Amjid Javed
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When ever he played against Pakistan he was the one batsmen who looked really good when facing wasim, waqar and mushy and i always saw him as the key wicket pakistan always need to take cheaply if they wanted to do well against england.
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Zaz
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He was the one world class batter england had in the early 90s
Excellent against pace and good against spin He had a very good all round game and got better as he aged His avge doesnt look great but thats because he had a pretty avge first half of his career whilst the latter half he was genuinely world class
His success didnt come easy he was very hard working and expected the same from his team, one of those that led from the front and wouldnt ask anyone to do something that he wouldnt do himself first
Excellent against pace and good against spin He had a very good all round game and got better as he aged His avge doesnt look great but thats because he had a pretty avge first half of his career whilst the latter half he was genuinely world class
His success didnt come easy he was very hard working and expected the same from his team, one of those that led from the front and wouldnt ask anyone to do something that he wouldnt do himself first
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Truly great player. Statsguru fans who are 18 and know only T20 will disagree.
Watched his 154* in 1991 back on BBC2 on the weekend. What a knock against a fearsome West Indian pace quartet on an overcast day at Headingley in a low scoring Test.
Ambrose looked terrifying to face. The next highest English score in that innings was 27 !
Ambrose looked terrifying to face. The next highest English score in that innings was 27 !
Ab Fan
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He is among England's top 5 openers
Hobbs
Hutton
Sutcliffe
Gooch
Boycott
Hobbs
Hutton
Sutcliffe
Gooch
Boycott
Robert
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What amazed me was the rocketing bounce even medium pacers Pringle and Watkin were getting on that deck. Pringle was bouncing top order West Indians out!
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Happy Birthday to Gooch
Born: July 23, 1953 (age 69 years), Whipps Cross,
Born: July 23, 1953 (age 69 years), Whipps Cross,
Robert
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Alderman was very good at aiming the ball at leg stump and swinging it onto off, which messed up Goochie’s footwork. I watched it through binoculars at Lord’s from behind the bowler.
Nikhil_cric
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India were never winning that World Cup.
We were favorites to win that WC. Gooch and Gooch only proved to be our undoing.
How great it would have been for Sunny to bow out as two times WC winner! But that was not to be and he had a forgettable farewell game in WC semis.
Savak
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Wasim and Waqar were bowling at their peak speeds in the 1992 series, he had a high backlift and even then they could not York him. This was the quality of the player. He faced world class bowlers in his career. That avg of 42 is under rated.
James
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One of England’s better players in recent times.
Agreed - Alderman just had his number. I disliked him towards the end of his career because of his treatment of Gower (who is my favourite English player of all time), but you can’t deny Gooch was world class.
Savak
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David Gower apparently was not training, practicing hard enough or participating in team meetings. He also played a few irresponsible shots in crucial match situations to get out hurting the team. You can't blame Gooch for reading him the Riot act in these circumstances.
Maybe, but that was Gower, take it or leave it. He never put the hours in to practice, he wasn’t a particularly prolific county player either - he was gifted and performed at his best on the international stage.
What I didn’t like was that he singled Gower out when everyone failed. He scapegoated him for that Ashes much the same way they did with Pieterson in 2014.
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