JUST BEFORE TEA ON THE SECOND day of the Lord’s Test match in 1990, GRAHAM GOOCH nudged a single that took his score to 299. The England captain then removed his white helmet and placed it in front of the stumps before sloping off for a cuppa. The implication was clear: “I’ll be back.”
It had been 64 years since Jack Hobbs joined Percy Holmes to become the only batsmen to reach 300 at the Home of Cricket and Gooch became the third after the break. “I was so tired,” he said. “But I was determined to” No one outside Lord’s saw it, since the BBC had cut away for the 4.05pm race from Ascot.
