Cricinfo - Blogs - Rob's Lobs - Of winners and nice guys

Gough’s figures are even more impressive, and all concern his derrings and doings for country rather than county: most ODI wickets for England (236); second-best strike-rate (35.9); ninth most Test wickets (229, though Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff will soon relegate him from the Top 10); second-best average, 28.39, behind Angus Fraser among England bowlers claiming 100 Test scalps since Viv Richards hammered Bob Willis into retirement in 1984; an Ashes hat-trick; kick-started the Nasser Hussain era with 72 wickets at 21.20 in 15 Tests spanning five series against West Indies, Sri Lanka (away), Pakistan (away and home) and a Flowered-up Zimbabwe in 2000-01, all of which would have been won but for a horrible post-tea collapse in the final session of the streak; most impressively of all, only Fred Trueman has bettered his Test strike rate (51.6) among Poms harvesting 80-plus victims since the First World War.

When they first played together for England, in an ODI against the Kiwis at Trent Bridge in 1994, Hick actually outbowled Gough (2-32 v 2-36), but their paths, in terms of international achievement, diverged greatly from then on. Whereas Gough, chest and cheeks puffing with pride and unstinting effort, would have been England’s only shoo-in for a World XI in the late 1990s, Hick became a byword for lack of nerve and/or backbone. Whereas Gough was still busy talking up his England prospects long after he’d been put out to grass, one always had the sense that Hick couldn’t escape the spotlight quickly enough.

Perhaps we judge him too harshly. Perhaps we shouldn’t use that Test average of 31 as the ultimate barometer. For one thing, had he made his debut 10 years later and Ian Bell his 10 years earlier, given the way the planet’s bowlers have suffered at the hands of legislation and pitches this decade, it is eminently possible that their averages would have been reversed. For another, his one-day record – sixth most runs for England, ninth highest average, second-most catches by a non-keeper, better strike-rate than Monty Panesar – is far more representative of his value to the national cause. Then there is the small matter of expectation. Has any cricketer ever made his Test debut burdened with so many predictions of greatness?

What, then, of the fact, of which much was once made, that he is an Englishman by trade rather than birth? When Mark Ramprakash and Andy Caddick decide they have finally had enough of the county-go-round, we will probably be making similar comparisons and drawing much the same conclusions. The difference is that whereas the Harrow-born Ramprakash is the Hick in statistical terms, it is the converted Pom, Caddick, Goughie’s erstwhile new-ball partner, who took to the highest stages with the greater zeal.

At the highest level, it all comes down to attitude. Does your self-belief outweigh the belief others have in you? Can you keep self-doubt at bay? Can you convince yourself, and your team-mates, that no mountain is too high, no sorcery beyond you? Do you carry yourself like a winner and talk like a champion? Are you, above all, a competitor by instinct? Gough and Caddick tick most if not all those boxes, treading as they do that thin line separating arrogance from complete self-assurance; if Hick and Ramprakash tick any of them it is only because, for the most part, they possess the dignity of those accustomed to receiving accolades and laurels.

To hear the two pacemen squabble over their respective Test records on TV a few Saturdays back – and the jocularity was barely skin-deep - was to bear witness to one of the most enduring rivalries in sport. They couldn’t help themselves. Even now, in their professional dotage, they need the edge of competition like the rest of us need oxygen. You wouldn’t necessarily crave their friendship. Can you imagine Hicky and Ramps having a similar bout of verbal fisticuffs, even in jest? Nor me. Ramprakash has always been too serious, too hard on himself, Hick too sincere, too soft on others. Lovely blokes both, but neither has the inner security to be able to bluff his way out of a hole.

Hick should be treasured as one of the greatest runmakers in history, period. Gough ought to be remembered as the bowler who did most to restore his country’s cricketing self-respect. Both deserve our respect and gratitude. But as the prizes for playing ballgames grow, it’s getting that much harder for nice guys to finish first.

Great to hear of Caddick and Gough squabbling over their respective records. There were lots of ups and downs with both of their careers. It seems with test cricket you have to suffer those times, learn from it, and importantly not lose your hunger for not just doing well, but also crushing the opposition. I always felt Hick was a bit static in the crease - he never really looked at home when I watched him in test match cricket, but looking back, I wonder if his failure and also Ramprakash's was that they usually found batting too easy. I think the same is might be true of Bell (and I have no doubt that Hick and Ramps would have better stats than Bell if they played in the central contracts era). As a batsman, you need an appetite for hanging in, surviving, especially when the bowling is good, and a desire to fight on until you have the opportunity to dominate the bowling. I don't believe pure batting talent is enough at test level.

Sher - please grow up and post comments that reflect your maturity, or maybe that's what you are doing. for the record, if Hick had been Indian he would be given exactly the same coverage. TO say that he wouldn't implies at best ignorance on your part, and at worst, accusations of racism against the author of the article.

Facts - Hick was a high quality player, who because of technical issues in his batting, never quite made it to the top tier. An ODI avergae of nearly 38 shows what could have been if he had been messed around with. Ramps was better technically, but Hick's hand-eye co-ordination was second to none. There is no doubt, if he had not been dropped and picked, dropped and picked, but nurtured and given the confidence to go out and play his natural game, he would have had higher averages in both forms of the international game. And of course he played the game in the right spirit - hard but fair. Sher, if you can't post a sensible comment, shut up and don't post at all.

A slightly strange article, as evidenced by the second and third comments - it is not entirely clear which Rob feels "deserves the greater respect". Paul Spencer seems to feel that Rob meant Hick - Hick was my favourite cricketer when I was a nipper, and I've never needed another. I'll certainly treasure the memories.

However, like George Curtis, I think that Rob actually meant Gough. Who is also a fine cricketer, and who's finest hour in Sri Lanka and Pakistan was one of the greatest English pace bowling performances. Let's just treasure them both in their different ways, I think it's mean-spirited to claim one is worthy of "greater respect".

Rob has got it wrong regarding Caddick, though - a good bowler, certainly, but rarely outside England, and rarely in the first innings. Gough was much the more vital.