Biography

David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Test matches and 114 One Day Internationals (ODI) scoring 8,231 and 3,170 runs, respectively. He was one of the most capped and high-scoring players for England during his period, and only Jack Hobbs made more runs against Australia than Gower's 3,269.

Gower led England during the 1985 Ashes, and his team was victorious; however, two 5–0 whitewashes against the West Indies (in 1984 and 1985–86) reflected poorly on his captaincy, and Gower was replaced in 1986. He was briefly reinstated for the 1989 Ashes series, before being replaced as captain by Graham Gooch. The strained relationship between the pair contributed to Gower retiring from international cricket in 1993. Nevertheless he ended with an impressive record in first-class cricket, accumulating 26,339 runs at an average of 40.08, and 53 centuries. As of February 2021, he held the record of 119 consecutive innings without registering a duck in Test cricket. Following his retirement, Gower became a successful cricket commentator with Sky Sports, and on 16 July 2009 he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.