Never mind the players or the organisers (or even the fans). The one person who's really had to tough out the World Cup is David Gower, writes Giles Smith in The Times.

Was it possible to imagine life any other way? How far away Hampshire must have seemed to the Sky Sports front man. And would his dog even recognise him after all this time, or chase him back up his own garden path, snarling wildly?

To say these less than testing broadcast conditions had suited him would be to be guilty of grave understatement. Short of presenting in a towelling robe, Gower couldn’t have looked more like a man with his feet up. The only dark spot came right at the end, when he had to go to a cricket match. Throughout the tournament, the message had been clear: Gower wasn’t going to the cricket; the cricket was going to have to come to Gower. And ultimately, it did.

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