David Gower

he fluffy-haired, ethereal-looking young man who pulled his first ball in Test cricket for four in 1978 was to be England's most consistent and consistently exasperating batsman of the 1980s. Other batsmen go in and out of form: Gower always seemed to play the same - beautifully, until the moment he made a mistake. Sometimes, the mistake was put off long enough for him to play an innings of unforgettable brilliance. A left-hander with a strong top hand, Gower's strokes had a liquid, graceful feel: in an era of biffers, he was a caresser.