Cricket: Gough Delighted After 200th Wicket

Relishing his status as the first England bowler to take 200 one-day wickets, Darren Gough was his old ebullient self yesterday. Not even the aftermath of a few late-night beers with Freddie Flintoff - a Flintoff in angsty mood, awaiting an update on the birth of his first baby - could dampen his assault upon those who have dared to talk of his retirement.

Gough bristled like he did in his heyday, before his knee decided to taunt him with a passable impression of a hot-air balloon, scoffing at suggestions that an England victory in the Champions Trophy this month might provide a neat finale to a glorious international career.

Holly Flintoff was born at 3.52am yesterday, four weeks premature. According to Gough, talk of his last delivery may be about four years premature. That 200th wicket - India's Harbhajan Singh caught at backward point at Lord's on Sunday - has him bursting with pride. He is even enamoured with the speed gun again. "It's coming out at 88mph - not bad for a medium-pacer."

He has not abandoned dreams of playing in the 2007 World Cup, but his pride would be stirred most of all by an Ashes win next summer. He might have retired from Test cricket but Essex would have to give him time off to go and watch. "If we beat Australia I will be cheering them on. I will be there the day that they do it and it will be my proudest moment ever." He may well lead the Barmy Army singsong.

He can catalogue past one-day disasters. 1996 World Cup: "bad selection." 1999 World Cup: "We had a good chance in England, but we lacked bottle." 2003 World Cup: "A mess - we would have qualified if we had played Zimbabwe."

That leaves him flabbergasted at England's sated response to the Champions Trophy. "The best players in the world are here for two weeks. It's second to the World Cup. You want to measure yourself against the best. To win it would be brilliant."

Injury has caused Gough to miss nearly a quarter of England's 173 one-day internationals since his debut. These days, when he leaves a cricket field in sound working order it is a minor miracle. He barely bowls in the nets, he no longer risks treadmills, and every month he visits his German specialist, Dr Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt, for injections aimed at regenerating his cartilage.

Pride persistently refuels Gough when others would opt for a strategic withdrawal. Retirement will not come naturally, involving a good deal of readjustment for a player who has loved the limelight.

"It takes time to come back from career-threatening injuries, but I'm the first Englishman to take 200 wickets and I'm proud of that. I have heard people saying that the Champions Trophy might be my natural end, but it is not the media's decision on when I have to retire; it is my decision, the selectors' and the captain's.

"Only in England would people write that. I don't see people writing that Glenn McGrath should retire." In Australia they did, actually, but there was not much chance for interjections.

"I'm not saying I'll be at the World Cup, but I think I deserve the opportunity to try. If I can keep my fitness up, who knows? I love proving people wrong, and there are a few wrong people out there.

"Leaving Yorkshire was the hardest decision of my life; I still check their scores first on Teletext. But my move to Essex has been brilliant for me. They understand my needs. They don't overuse me in the nets."

Gough's ability to bowl not only with the new ball but also at the death remains his greatest asset. "You need four death bowlers," he asserted. "Not two, four." As England's one-day side has rarely had two bowlers who relish the closing overs, four would probably secure his involvement for ever.

He was still bubbling as he got into a taxi with two younger England team-mates, James Anderson and Geraint Jones, asking if his trendy new glasses made him look younger. When told he should borrow Anderson's shades, he fulminated: "I've tried his, they're useless."

There had been only one way to interrupt Gough. No England player relishes being asked if he intends to tour Zimbabwe for the one-day series this winter. Talk about an ardour-dampener. "I haven't made a decision on Zimbabwe," he said. "I don't think anyone has. That's personal at the moment." There followed such a pregnant silence that deafness might have descended upon the world.