A bowler of considerable talent, Gough breezed onto the international scene in 1994, taking the wicket of New Zealand's Mark Greatbatch with his fifth ball at Test level, among six victims in that match. He has been considered England's greatest hope for success ever since, despite several interruptions through injury.

Gough is a hostile bowler of genuine pace, but also the ability to deliver a devastating swinging yorker, capable of troubling the best batsmen. It is a natural enthusiasm for the game which gives him that extra step of pace and enables him to keep his tail up even in adverse circumstances. Unfortunately, this also means that he finds it difficult to hold back when the situation dictates, and that has lead to a series of abortive comebacks from injury.

After rolling over six Australians for 49 and clubbing his way to a half-century in Sydney on the 1994/95 Ashes tour, he went down with a broken foot and it was only in 1998, against South Africa, that he recaptured the form that made him England's most effective strike bowler. He was back to his best for the next trip to Australia, though. The 1998/99 tour included figures of five for 96 to set up England's lone win at Melbourne, and was capped by a spectacular hat-trick in the final Test, a 98-run defeat at Sydney.

A knock of 65 on his debut proved that the Yorkshireman can bat, and early on in his Test career it looked as though he might develop into a true allrounder. He is a powerful hitter, and has scored useful runs but has never surpassed that first innings.

Gough's attacking style once seemed tailored to Tests rather than one-dayers. As he has matured, however, he has tightened his line and length without reducing his ability to take wickets. He rarely ends an opening spell without at least one wicket. When he does, England inevitably struggle.