Ask: Mike Gatting

May 20 2007 By The Sunday Sun

Mike Gatting is one of England's most prolific cricketers. Apart from playing for the national team he represented Middlesex County Cricket Club between 1975 and 1998, acting as captain between 1983 and 1997.

His first Test century arrived after 54 Test innings. He captained England to an Ashes series victory in Australia in 1986/87 and later that year caused a diplomatic incident when he became involved in a heated argument with umpire Shakoor Rana.

One of his most controversial career moments came when he led a tour of South Africa despite international protests.

In June 1993 he was on the receiving end of a ball bowled by Aussie Shane Warne. The delivery was so spectacular it has been dubbed the Ball of the Century.

Mike will be appearing in Rain Stops Play at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle on Wednesday May 23 along with England cricketers Jonathan Agnew and Graham Gooch. The evening, hosted by Ralph Dellor, will see the trio recall their favourite anecdotes from "life in the box".

Tickets are priced from £12 to £16 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0870-905 5060 or online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

You retired with 94 first-class centuries . . . do you wish you had played on another year or two to complete 100 hundreds?
People often ask me that. I always said to myself that I would retire when I was not enjoying playing as much as I used to, so it came down to whether or not I felt the statistic of getting 100 centuries meant something. To me, 94 centuries is an interesting milestone. It may have taken another two years to get to 100 . . . another two years of playing when I wasn't really enjoying it.

What was your finest achievement during your playing career?
Captaining England for the Ashes series in Australia.

After your stand off with Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana you were forced to apologise by the cricketing authorities. In hindsight, were they right to force you or should they have backed you?
I felt they needed to make sure something was done. Were they right? Well, I was very prepared to apologise if Mr Rana apologised. He eventually wrote something to me, but the word apology was not in the letter.

You captained a rebel tour to South Africa during the apartheid regime. Why?
It's a long story, but basically we were let down by people running the game at the time, which made it difficult for myself to be part of English cricket. People were manipulative and lies were told, so much so that I felt unable to play for my country.

What do you think of the off-field antics of the current English team?
We all used to have a bit of fun off the field but as they say: "There's a time and a place . . . and don't get caught!" We went out occasionally. You can't have all work and no play.

You are the last English captain to win the Ashes on Aussie turf, going back to 1986. What does that statistic say about the state of English cricket?
It means the last four or five times we have been out there, we've not prepared properly.

How do you think the transfer of coverage from terrestrial TV to satellite channels has affected its popularity?
Sky have done a very good job with their coverage, and it's not their fault that they got the contract.
The sport will have lost some viewers because Channel 5 put out the highlights quite late, so it's disappointing that many youngsters don't get to watch. The powers that be should work out some sort of deal.

If you hadn't been a cricketer what would you have done?
A PE teacher at primary school level, so I could help mould one or two people into sports people.

Do you think enough is done in schools to promote cricket?
No. That's why I am involved with Chance to Shine, in which we are trying to raise £25m over the next few years to put it back into state schools. We are three years into the 12-year programme and have already raised half the money, so by the end we should have 1000 cricket clubs and cricket in 7000 schools.

When you're not working what do you do to relax?
I play golf, read, play music and walk. . . but mostly play golf. I'm into all music really but I prefer listening to easy listening like Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Elton John and other 1980s material.

Do you ever get sick of being teased about your healthy appetite?
Not at all. I've put up with it all my life so I just get on with it.

Did you ever consider any other sports as a career?
Football. I played for Watford reserves when I was 17 and had to decide whether or not to play football or cricket professionally. I plumped for cricket when I was 17 and a half.