David Gower

David Ivon Gower OBE (born 1 April 1957) is a former English cricketer who became the 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 3170 runs, respectively. He was one of the most capped and high scoring players for England during his period. 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 2013, he holds 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.