Gough's Test retirement puts heat on Vaughan

The rebuilding programme that confronts Michael Vaughan as England's new captain will take on a new urgency after Darren Gough, the team's outstanding bowler of the last decade, admitted that his body is no longer up to the rigours of Test cricket.

Gough's retirement from the five-day game was not entirely unexpected. After battling back from a third knee operation to make a Test comeback against South Africa, he made only a modest impact in the matches at Edgbaston and Lord's, where it was painfully clear that the 32-year-old Yorkshireman could offer no more than a faint impression of his former self.

The passion that turned Gough into England's most potent talisman since Ian Botham had not deserted him. But the pace and potency that once made him a feared opponent were no longer there and, at a cost of 215 runs in the two Tests, he could add only one more wicket to the Test haul of 228 that had persuaded the selectors he was worth another match. Last night, Gough explained his decision and a queue formed to applaud his achievements since his Test debut in 1994.

He hopes to continue to serve England's one-day team, but his withdrawal from the Test arena leaves Vaughan and the selectors - still dealing with Alec Stewart's impending retirement and the doubts over Nasser Hussain's future - to face a crisis they had hoped would go away, namely where to find a bowling attack capable of stemming the flow of runs from South African bats.

Gough attained a personal target by returning to Test cricket after almost two years out, but confessed that the strain of the two Tests, even with James Anderson, Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff to share the burden, was too much.

"My career is based on being a strike bowler and being the one the captain always turned to in time of need," Gough said. "But I've found the last two matches hard-going both mentally and physically - not just on playing days but also against the backdrop of the effort I've put in over the last eight months to get back to this stage.

"It has become apparent to me, no matter what my heart, head or public want me to do, that my knee will not allow me to play Test match cricket. Obviously I'm sad, but I think every player knows when it's time to step down and I feel in order for me to concentrate on my dream of one-day cricket and possibly another World Cup for England and trying to help Yorkshire move forward, I have to retire from Test cricket."

The Barnsley-born Gough, who underwent three knee operations after the one-day leg of the 2002 New Zealand tour, appeared to be at the end of the line when he was selected for last winter's Ashes series but returned home without playing. He came back for the NatWest Series this season but impressive one-day performances did not transfer to the Test arena.

England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, paid the first tribute to a bowler whose 229 wickets at 28.39 in 58 Tests places him eighth on the list of all-time England wicket-takers.

"He has been a brilliant talisman for the English team over the past decade," Graveney said. "It has been unfortunate that his career has been blighted by injury and I am sure he would have moved higher up the all-time England wicket-taking list if he hadn't been so unlucky."

Graveney admitted that the first two Tests were a tough experience for Gough, who had been adamant before the opening match at Edgbaston that only playing a five-day game would prove whether he could do it.

"They were two very flat wickets and he spent most of his time bowling to Graeme Smith, who had a fantastic couple of Tests," Graveney said. "But he did a great job in the NatWest Series. His opening spell basically won the final against South Africa and his expertise of how to bowl and deal with one-day cricket is worth having."

Vaughan and the selectors must try to assemble a decent England attack for the third Test, starting at Trent Bridge a week tomorrow. They had hoped - unrealistically, perhaps - that a fit Gough could carry them through as they wait for Matthew Hoggard and the still unproven Simon Jones to recover from long-term injury - Jones begins his comeback with Glamorgan second XI tomorrow. Instead, with Andrew Caddick out, Richard Johnson again troubled by fitness problems and Harmison and Anderson still patently with much to learn, they must select from worryingly meagre resources.

DARREN GOUGH'S TEST CAREER

Debut: v New Zealand, Old Trafford, 1994.

58 Tests, 229 wkts at 28.39

Best bowling: 6-42 v South Africa, Headingley, 1998

Best batting: 65 (on debut) v New Zealand, Old Trafford, 1994