Graham Gooch was the most prolific run scorer top-class cricket has ever seen. After he retired in 1997, the statistician Robert Brooke calculated that he had scored 21,087 in one-day cricket at first-class level, which added to his 44,841 first-class runs, put him ahead of Jack Hobbs. It was an... Read more
Graham Gooch was the most prolific run scorer top-class cricket has ever seen. After he retired in 1997, the statistician Robert Brooke calculated that he had scored 21,087 in one-day cricket at first-class level, which added to his 44,841 first-class runs, put him ahead of Jack Hobbs. It was an amazing achievement.
Graham Gooch was awarded the OBE for his services to cricket in 1991.
1990 was a major year in Gooch’s career, he averaged over 100 with the test match at Lord’s against India being the highlight. In this one match Gooch hit the world record test run aggregate (456), he became holder of the highest score at Lord’s (333), he was the first ever player to score a triple-century and a century in a match, he took the record for the highest test score against India and achieved the highest score by an England Captain.
In all Gooch led the England side 34 times and was captain in the 1992 World Cup final defeat by Pakistan. He played in two other World Cup finals in 1979 and 1987. Currently he is England’s leading test run maker with a total of 8,900 runs and 20 centuries.
In 1996 Gooch was appointed an England selector and held that position for four seasons. Since 2002 he has been Essex’s Head Coach. He has also started the “Graham Gooch Scholarship Fund” an initiative to raise money to send some of Essex’s best young professionals on overseas scholarships.
In November 2009 Gooch was selected as a “temporary” batting coach for the impending four test tour of South Africa and to support ex-Essex colleague, Head England Coach Andy Flower. In March 2012 Graham Gooch took the full-time role as England Batting coach which came in the wake of the disappointing three-match Test series against Pakistan, in which England were beaten 3-0, largely down to the failure of their batsmen.
Graham Gooch has acquired a vast fund of stories, which he delivers in his own style. He is articulate and well informed and can motivate, inspire, entertain and create an individual’s awareness of self-achievement and has an established reputation as a humorous after dinner speaker and is in demand at corporate, social and sporting events.
Additional Information:
– England Cricket Selector – 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
– England Specialist Batting Coach – 1998, 1999, 2000
– England Cricket Team Tour Manager – Australia 1998/99
– England ‘A’ Cricket Team Tour Manager – Kenya/Sri Lanka 1998
– Durham County Cricket Club, Specialist Batting Coach – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
– Head Coach Essex County Cricket Club – 2002, 2003, 2004
– Awarded OBE – 1991