Graham Alan Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL (born 23 July 1953) is a former English cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time, with 67,057 runs across first-class and limited-overs games. His List A cricket tally of 22,211 runs is also a record. He is one of only twenty-five players to have scored over 100 first-class centuries.
Internationally, despite being banned for three years following a rebel tour to ostracized South Africa, Gooch is the second highest Test run scorer for England. His playing years spanned much of the period of domination by the West Indies, against whom his mid-forties batting average is regarded as extremely creditable. His score of 154 against them at Headingley in 1991 is regarded as one of the greatest centuries of all time by many critics and former players. His career-best score of 333 added to his second innings century remains the highest match aggregate at Lord’s. He is the first to make 20 Test appearances at Lords. As captain, Matthew Engel noted, “his fanatical fitness and work-ethic gave the team more purpose than it had shown in a decade.”
After 118 Tests, aged forty-two, he retired into coaching and as team selector, before becoming a commentator. In 2009 he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He returned to coach Essex, before becoming England batting coach in 2012.
Records
Test matches
2nd highest run scorer in Test cricket for England (8,900 runs).
9th most runs in Test cricket (when he retired Gooch was the 3rd highest run scorer in Tests).
3rd highest score for England in a single Test innings with 333 (only Len Hutton and Wally Hammond made higher scores for England).
The most runs scored in a single Test, 456 (333 and 123) against India at Lords 1990 . Gooch, along with Kumar Sangakkara, is one of only two players to score a triple hundred and a hundred in a match in all first-class cricket).
Equal 8th most centuries in Test Cricket for England, scoring 100 or more 20 times.
3rd most fifties (and over) for England, scoring fifty or more 66 times.
The most runs scored in a three-Test series for any team, 752 against India 1990.
2nd most capped England player with 118 (Alec Stewart was capped 133 times).
The most Test runs at Lord’s.
Test hundreds
One day internationals
The 4th most ODI runs by an Englishman, 4,290.
The 2nd most ODI centuries by an Englishman, 8.
