Darren Gough
Born September 18th 1970, at Barnsley, England
Debut 1989
1st XI Cap: 9th September 1993

 Darren Gough is ideally suited to his nickname "The Dazzler" because his brilliant performances for both Yorkshire and England have led to him being acknowledged as the leading strike bowler in the country as well as English cricket's top personality both on and off the field.

"The Dazzler" is a shining example to all budding young cricketers and proof of what can be achieved with spirited determination to succeed and faith in one's own ability. From the moment he made his Yorkshire debut against Middlesex at Lord's as a raw 18 year-old in 1898 it was clear that Darren star quality and he has sprinkled some of this on cricket fields around the world,
not least in Australia.

The match in which Darren first stepped over the threshold from promising young paceman to lethal fast bowler was at Taunton in 1992 when he destroyed Somerset with seven for 42 and a ten-wicket haul in the match. He made rapid progress up the ladder and earned full England recognition in 1994, making his Texaco Trophy debut against New Zealand at Trent Bridge and then getting over an injury to play in his first Test Match at Old Trafford where he scored 65 and took four for 47 against the Kiwis.

In the Lord's Test against South Africa later that summer he recorded figures of eight for 122 but it was in Australia the following winter that he really acquired star status and his 51 runs and six for 49 at Sydney only narrowly failed to bring England a dramatic victory. Darren's tour was cut short by injury but he returned home a hero and his 20 wickets in three Tests were way ahead of what anyone else could manage in the entire series.

Appropriately, and almost inevitably, it was Darren in 1998 who grabbed the last South African wicket at Headingley in a pulsating finish which brought England victory by 23 runs to clinch the series 2-1. It was one of the most exciting Test matches ever staged and Darren was on fire in the second innings when he captured six for 42. Yet his greatest moment was still to come - and that was back in Sydney when he became the first Englishman to take a Test Hat-Trick against Australia this century.

Darren bowled splendidly for England in last year's World Cup, capturing 11 wickets at 17.45 runs apiece, the fifth best bowling average in the competition.
Sadly a persistent calf injury sidelined him for much of the remainder of the summer,
but he built up his fitness in time for England's winter tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Darren had another successful winter ending up third in the Pricewaterhouse Coopers One day world rankings behind Pollock and Mc Grath. Without doubt he was an automatic choice for a full England Contract in 2000.