Graham Gooch’s famous pair has become a fillip for any aspiring player failing at the first attempt. He faced only 10 balls and was in the middle for eight minutes as he made a calamitous start to one of England’s great Test careers. The Aussie quicks famously rolled England over by an innings, and Gooch was dropped after the second Test, not to return until June 1978. It was indeed a miserable start to Gooch’s career, and coming back to the national squad was never easy.
Jeff Thomson was picked as a raw 22-year-old quick against Pakistan, as he decided not to tell the selectors of a broken bone in his foot. The result was a poor match: 0 for 100 in 17 overs in the first innings and only two overs in the second. He was dropped and returned two years later in an Ashes series, and as some Englishmen can testify, they still have the bruises.
