David Gower Q&A: Memories of Windies Tests past and thoughts on England's future

Ahead of England's trip to West Indies in the new year, David Gower sat down with The Cricketer and travel company ITC to discuss his recollections of cricket in the Caribbean...

For anyone heading to the Caribbean for the cricket for the first time, what one bit of advice would you give them?

Beware the strength of the rum punch! Indeed anything with rum in it. It has a habit of catching up with you all too quickly!!

Away from the cricket, what’s your favourite thing to do on the islands?

I love the water and the beaches. In the right place the snorkelling can be good enough to see what’s going on under the surface but to dive amongst the fish off the coral reefs can be spectacular. There are of course some beautiful remote beaches all around the Caribbean - time to just lay back with your toes in the sand and … relax.

What’s your best memory of being on tour with ITC Sports Travel?

I remember fondly the original days in the Caribbean with Drew Foster in charge of all the fun and mayhem that those first tours enjoyed! The first cruises were very special and included a performance on deck in Antigua by the local band which included none other than Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson.

^{David Gower takes evasive action with Gordon Greenidge at the crease for West Indies}

What are your best and worst memories of playing the Windies?

Best is the hundred I scored against that famed and feared attack in Jamaica in 1981, which finished off a testing tour with some little bit of honour regained and the worst is not being able to avoid a second “blackwash” as we just failed to steal a draw in the last Test of the 1986 tour. That’s how different the two teams were in that era - a draw would have been a good result for us whereas anything less than a win was a disaster for the West Indies!

Who was the best Windies player you ever faced?

Of the bowlers it is always hard to identify one from the half dozen or so that could have played each and every game but by a whisker I think the best of them was Malcolm Marshall. However the easy answer to the question is just to name Viv Richards as the finest batsman in the world of that generation. You can tell the result of the ’86 series in which we captained against each other - he is now SIR Viv!

What do you feel has changed in recent years with the West Indies Test side? At one point they were one of the most feared sides in the world. Have teams learnt how to deal with them?

I hate to say it but the current team is a pale shadow of the team of the 80s. In that era West Indies had great batsmen and great bowlers and since Brian Lara it is hard to say that they have produced any genuinely great Test cricketers. Chris Gayle is a great player and a global superstar but he does not play any more Test cricket. They have been successful more recently in the one-day game and T20 and they have had some rare successes in Tests, such as the win at Headingley on their last tour in England, but overall there is simply much less to deal with.

What advice would you give to the current England team to succeed in the Caribbean?

Take nothing for granted. Last time around England were expected to win handsomely and slipped up. Joe Root’s team will be bolstered by the series win in Sri Lanka but know they need to repeat the performance and to win in the Caribbean to set up the team for the Ashes in the summer.

Gower and Sir Ian Botham on board a yacht in the Caribbean

What happens when you meet someone in the commentary box with whom you had a feud or disagreement as a player?

Who me?! It could never happen! If there were a dispute all those years ago on the field it would have been sorted out very quickly and would be long forgotten by now. I have spent the last 20 years in the Sky box alongside Michael Holding, who is just the nicest man. He might have tried to knock my head off a few times back in the 80s (failing thankfully!) but that was just part of the game.

At the moment England have a lot of players who are multi-disciplinary. Do you feel this is something that could be a problem or is it what makes a strong Test side?

It’s a nice problem, as they say, when there are people vying for the same spot and keeping the pressure on those in occupation. It was fascinating in Sri Lanka how Ben Foakes seized his long awaited chance and proved both how excellent he is with the gloves and handy with the bat. Jonny Bairstow had done nothing wrong except tread on instead of kicking a football but he knows and the selectors know how good he is, which means he has a lot more to offer England as a batsman alone if need be. So in the end it is great to have talent like that available.

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There has been a lot of talk about Test Matches not lasting five days any longer. Do you feel the format should be shortened?

I am reluctant to shorten Tests to four days but understand some of the reasons, the crowded calendar being one, that mean some administrators would like to change. I fear for spectators though - if a Test match day has to be further lengthened to accommodate such a change there might not be enough hours in the day in some tropical countries!

James Anderson and Stuart Broad are still a huge force to be reckoned with however they won’t be here forever. Who can you see in the current England set-up that will step up once they do retire?

It takes time to build a legend! Already we have seen some great performances from Chris Woakes (more so at home) to suggest that he will be a force and the pace of Olly Stone, only recently revealed to international cricket, might well develop into something special but Jimmy and Stuart will do their best to keep them all at bay as long as possible.

Who would you like to see as England's opening batting partnership moving forward into 2019?

Gooch and Cook?!! At the moment, as I write, both incumbents, Burns and Jennings, have had decent starts to the winter Tests so it looks right now as they deserve to be in place in the summer.

Join David Gower aboard the Crystal Esprit cruise, exclusively chartered by ITC Sports Travel. Readers of The Cricketer magazine enjoy a 5% discount (quote ‘The Cricketer Magazine’). For more information visit itcsports.co.uk, call 01244355579, or email sports@itc-uk.com