A few weeks ago, I was invited to a London pub to watch the Adelaide Test with Darren Gough and other England fans. This is a promotional campaign for the Greene King IPA. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come due to family reasons. I’m disappointed because Goughie is my favorite England bowler of all time. Better to add him to the current team and ask him how it feels to play in the Ashes.
Luckily though, the TVC agency was there to interview Goughie and they sent me the video below which you might like. Here’s a link (it’s the third in the video titled “IV Darren Gough”). They also gave me a free beer as compensation for missing the event myself! One of the brands of beer is Barmy Army Ale.
While some of the discussion is a bit dated now (recorded about a week ago), Darren made some very interesting points about the sport of bowling in Australia. It was fascinating because Goughie was a tricky bowler in his own right – a stark contrast to England’s selection of great sailors for the Ashes – but he was very successful in Australia. It just goes to show that stereotypes can be misleading. You don’t have to be a ‘thumping’ seamer to hit the club hard to be successful in Australia’s wickets.
Gauff believes it would be a mistake to focus solely on Australia’s rebound. He said he did a good job setting it up and getting Australians to drive it – something they’re not always used to back home. I found this particularly interesting because England’s Seans was (allegedly) told to play short in Adelaide – a tactic that backfired and cost them the game in a way.
Anyway, give yourself the video above. It’s definitely worth a few minutes of your time. If only because Gauff is an absolute legend. Do you remember his hat trick at SCG? The day I was there, the third ball in particular was an absolute peach. It can even knock out Steve Smith!
England could really use a bowler like Darren right now. It’s not just his speed and personality, but the contrast he provides. With the exception of Jimmy Anderson, all English bowlers are very similar: tall, right-armed, medium-speed. Mark Wood could make a difference at MCG, but it doesn’t matter if he’s instructed to roll the same length as the other sailors.