Graham Gooch was the most prolific run scorer top-class cricket has ever seen. After he retired in 1997, the statistician Robert Brooke calculated that he had scored 21,087 in one-day cricket at first-class level, which added to his 44,841 first-class runs, put him ahead of Jack Hobbs. It was an amazing achievement.

1990 was a great year in Gooch’s career, he averaged over 100 with the test match at Lord’s against India being the highlight. In this one match Gooch hit the world record test run aggregate (456), he became holder of the highest score at Lord’s (333), he was the first ever player to score a triple-century and a century in a match, he took the record for the highest test score against India and achieved the highest score by an England Captain. Of all his great test innings one stands out in particular, at Headingley against the West Indies in 1991. Gooch carried his bat for a score of 154 not out, out of a total of 252 on a green wicket which was regularly enlivened by the damp weather. This was against an attack comprising of Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall and Patterson.

In all Gooch led the England side 34 times and was captain in the 1992 World Cup final defeat by Pakistan. He played in two other World Cup finals in 1979 and 1987. Currently he is England’s 3rd leading test run maker with a total of 8,900 runs and 20 centuries.