On The Road: David Gower
Former England cricket captain David Gower tells Louise Flind about the joy of being abused by a stadium full of Australians
Is there anything you can’t leave home without? A friend in Leicester had a tennis shop that sold walking socks made like cricket socks but coloured. I used to have blue ones for England, red and green for Leicester, and blue and yellow when I moved to Hampshire – and they were bloody comfortable. They worried some of the senior people. Peter May, who was chairman of the selectors, made his point simply by saying, ‘David, what colour are those socks?’ And I said, ‘Chairman, they’re blue.’
Do you travel light? Try to. We had fewer things to carry than the modern generation, but we were more hands-on. Although in India we had a fellow called Govin and his two sons, who were in charge of all the baggage, and his proud boast was that he never lost a bag. Nowadays, I try to convince the other 75 per cent of my family [wife and two daughters] that you don’t need six pairs of white cut-off jeans for two weeks.
As a player, did you have to share hotel rooms? If yes, who was your roommate? Until one acquires either the captaincy or you’re a sort of exalted senior player, you have to share. On my first couple of tours, there were people like John Lever from Essex, who was brilliant because he knew about touring and that sitting in your room is dull and boring. In countries like Australia and New Zealand where the culture is similar it’s easy; but Bombay in 1979, aged 22 – there were so many things to understand. Even in the Taj Palace, having a quiet day and thinking a cup of tea would be nice in your room, it would take half the day for that cup of tea to arrive.
Was it terrifying going on an Ashes tour as such a young man? No, not terrifying at all. And this is the great thing about playing sport for a living. If you’re playing in the Ashes and you walk out to bat and start to think, ‘Oooh, I’m not sure about this,’ then you’ve probably made the wrong career choice. If you walk out to bat and think this is fantastic, and you look around the Sydney Cricket Ground which holds 45,000, or Melbourne with 80,000, with most of them against you and you think, ‘Yeah, I’m looking forward to this,’ then you’ve made the right career choice.
How did the crowds vary from country to country? Hugely. The common denominator is that if you do well, they respect you. In Australia, the banter starts at the airport and the build-up is confrontational. When we were getting slaughtered in the Caribbean, most of the time they’d be looking for you to do well – the spirit of the Caribbean was fantastic. The enthusiasm of Asian crowds when we first went there for Test matches, every ground was full. Now it’s Indian Premier League where every ground is full.
Earliest childhood holiday memories? I was born on holiday. Life’s a holiday. My first six years were spent in Dar es Salaam in a house just behind one of the main beaches [his father worked for the Colonial Service]. Then we moved to a house next to the golf course – I still hate golf – and there’s a photo of me aged three with a cricket bat in hand, lots of beautiful blonde hair and a pair of red shorts. We did a tour of the game parks in our state-of-the-art 1963 blue Ford Anglia, Mum and Dad and me.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? Kenya, with a couple of nights in Nairobi at either end.
Strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Last time we were in Kenya, we had a barbecued goat, Maasai-style – a young goat skinned and roasted over the fire. You had a panga, a big knife for chopping little bits off – not quite Hampshire.
Something you really miss? The concept of home. But I tend to get itchy feet as well.
Favourite international food? I’m philosophically against favourites, because variety keeps life interesting.
Do you have a go at the local language? Australian is a terrible language to pick up. I learned the odd word of Hindi for fun without achieving one per cent fluency. I can count to five and ask for a cup of tea – ‘Garam chai’.
Biggest headache? Getting from home or hotel to airport, especially with three girls – you have to be prepared for someone to say at the last minute, ‘I haven’t packed my case yet.’
Top travelling tips? Travel as light as you can – and if you want to wear ten pairs of white cut-off jeans every day, you’ve got to bloody carry them.
David Gower is backing crowd-funded ownership for the ransom strip at Lord’s (newcommonwealth.com). England’s Test series against India takes place in August and September