David Gower was bored. So bored. The empty room's silence had invaded his head, where it clanged about senselessly. Blinds on the windows blotted out much of what little daylight had seeped ...

If you were so inclined, and if he’d let you in, it’s perfectly possible to chart the rough course of David Gower’s life just by walking the boundary of his home study in rural Hampshire.

The sun scarcely graced the English cricket scene with its presence in 1978, but when it did it seemed to adorn the blond head of David Gower. The young Leicestershire left-hander could do little ...