Motivational SpeakersGraham Gooch OBE DL is one of England’s greatest cricketers and a popular, inspirational and after-dinner speaker.
A former Essex and England Captain, Graham is one of the most successful batsmen of his generation.
Graham represented Essex throughout his career.
With an illustrious playing career spanning nearly three decades, Graham Gooch became the most prolific run-scorer of all time with 67,057.
Raised in East London, Graham’s cricketing potential was developed at the Ilford Cricket School under the guidance of Bill Morris.
Graham Gooch OBE – After-Dinner Speaker:
As a cricket after-dinner speaker, Graham Gooch has acquired a vast fund of entertaining stories and anecdotes, which he delivers in his own style.
As a motivational speaker, he is articulate and well-informed, and can motivate, inspire, entertain, and foster an individual’s awareness of self-achievement whilst focusing on the importance of leadership and teamwork.
Cricket Career:
Graham Gooch made his county cricket debut for Essex in 1973 at 19 and played for the county until he retired as a player in 1997.
Graham was an integral member of the Essex team that won the County Championship six times between 1979 and 1992. The team also won every other major domestic trophy at least once in the same period.
In 1990, Gooch scored a record 456 runs in the Lord’s Test against India, 333 in the first innings and 123 in the second.
He scored 44,846 runs in all first-class cricket at an average of 49.01, including 128 centuries.
Gooch’s List A cricket tally of 22,211 runs is a world record and is one of the twenty-five players to have scored over 100 first-class centuries.
Gooch made his Test cricket debut in 1975, aged 21, against Australia. Between 1975 and 1995, Graham played 118 test matches and 125 One Day Internationals.
As captain, Graham Gooch led the England team 34 times. He is the second-highest Test run-scorer for England with 8,900 runs.
The most controversial aspect of Graham Gooch’s career came in 1982 when he decided to lead the first England rebel tour of South Africa. He was subsequently banned from test cricket for three years.
Gooch chose not to tour Australia in 1986-87 as his wife, Brenda, was pregnant with twins.
In 1995, after 118 Tests, he retired into coaching and as team selector, before becoming a commentator.
He returned to coach Essex before becoming the England cricket team batting coach in 2012.
He also started the ‘Graham Gooch Scholarship Fund’, an initiative to raise money to send some of Essex’s best young professionals on overseas scholarships.
Awards include:
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year – 1980
- Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year – 1988
- Professional Cricketers’ Association Player of the Year – 1990
- OBE for Services to Cricket – 1991
- Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – 2009
