Darren Gough MBE is returning to Yorkshire for a third spell, but his first in an administrative and coaching position.
A legend of Yorkshire and England Cricket, the Barnsley-born former seamer claimed almost 1,500 wickets across all formats during a decorated 20-season career between 1989 and 2008.
Gough won the Championship title in 2001 with the county and claimed 760 wickets across all formats and scored 4,244 runs as a more than useful lower order batsman.
The 51-year-old’s previous two spells at Headingley came either side of three seasons with Essex, the county where he has been based whilst forging a successful media career which has come to an end with this appointment.
He debuted for Yorkshire in 1989, left for Chelmsford ahead of 2004 and returned home ahead of 2007 to finish his career as captain for two seasons.
That he has been appointed as managing director of Yorkshire Cricket in a week which England begins an Ashes series Down Under is quite ironic given his history with that series.
He claimed a hat-trick at Sydney in 1999, becoming the first Englishman to claim an Ashes Test hat-trick in 100 years, the previous achieved by Jack Hearne at Headingley in 1899.
Dazzler, as he was affectionately nicknamed, embarks on his first major coaching role, though he has held previous bowling consultancy roles with England in 2017 and 2019.
“I am certain we can make Headingley roar again,” he said in his arrival press release.
That was something his all-action, never say die attitude regularly did, be it wearing a Yorkshire or an England shirt.
Gough’s first-class career best haul of 7-28 came at Headingley in a big win against Lancashire in early 1995, while he certainly made ‘Headingley roar’ in 1998 when taking the winning wicket for England as they claimed a 2-1 Test series victory over South Africa.
