Darren Gough - a career in tributes

Andrew Caddick: I first knew Darren when he played in New Zealand for a couple of years with Dominic Cork. He was a young tearaway and had a good life. He became a legend, as far as I am concerned.
We grew to be a potent partnership in Test cricket and have a very good friendship. He’s a good lad. We were always larking about and there were some great spells he bowled too.
But it is more the friendship that I will remember. It is one of those things that i will always be thinking about - the good times when it was the Caddick and Gough show.
I am sure I inspired him and he inspired me. It worked both ways. You had a short dumpy guy and a tall big-eared guy the other end. We complemented each other well and I think that is why we did so well.

Kevin Pietersen: He always played with a smile on his face. There is nobody who doesn’t like commentating when he is bowling and there is nobody who doesn’t like playing when he is playing. I think that is the greatest respect you can give a player.
He leaves the game of cricket, the best game in the world, with every player loving it when he plays. It’s a great compliment.

Tim Bresnan: I remember getting Goughie’s autograph in a Test match in ‘96 so to be walking out on a field with him not too many years later was fantastic for me. Obviously I watched him on telly as a young kid and I just thought ‘I want to be Darren Gough’.
I wouldn’t have said I modelled myself on him, but there is quite a lot of influence of what he did in my cricket. I play it with a smile on my face, enjoy every day and just get on with it.

Anthony McGrath: Ever since I started at Yorkshire - when Goughie was just getting in the England side - he has been fantastic for cricket in general, not just for Yorkshire. The way he plays the game - always giving 100 per cent. He has had a fabulous career and will be sorely missed. Players like him don’t come along very often.
He knows in his mind that it is time for him to go. He will go down as one of the legends of the game. That is the best compliment I can give him.

Martyn Moxon: He brought great energy and great pride. He was obviously a fine performer in his own right and he was fun. I think they are the main attributes of him.
I think he learnt very quickly. All top players learn very quickly. They watch players who are at the top of their game and they try to put what they do into practice. he was very good at that.
He knew what he needed to do to be the best he could be and he achieved that.

Steve Oldham: I suppose I was fortunate when I got to know him as an 11-year-old and I have known him ever since. His enthusiasm, his great skill and the way he plays the game with a smile on his face has always been a breath of fresh air.
I have been blessed with having two beautiful daughters but if I had had a son then I would have liked him to be like that. That is the highest compliment I can give him.

Paul Grayson: Don’t be fooled into thinking that Goughie was always smiling in the dressing room – if he wasn’t moaning he wasn’t happy – but he was a terrific bloke and friend.
It was nice that he has said how happy he had been at Essex. That was a move that I instigated so it was good that he enjoyed his time at the club. He brought a lot of charisma and passion with him.
Younger players such as Ryan ten Doeschate, Mark Pettini and James Foster learned a lot from him and the legacy he left us helped to create a winning culture that has stayed with those players.