He also got a wicket, a good one too, as Matthew Maynard walked across his stumps to one that kept low.”There were plenty of times when I thought it might be over,” said Gough “There are even times now when I think like that. But I love cricket, being involved and playing, even at county level. I’ve really enjoyed it this year.”When I bowled my first ball in my first Championship game back this summer I didn’t know where it was going I have never been like that before, even on my Test debut. I didn’t know what to do.”The ebullient Yorkshireman tries to make light of it, but he is miffed that he has been written off so many times. He sees it now as a point of personal honour to prove those observers wrong “I’m 32.

A lot of the great players wouldn’t have played half their internationals if they’d stopped at 32,” he said.But a lot of the great players did not have Gough’s weak knee He has targets in his mind, but will not reveal them. If a return to the Test arena is tempting (250 wickets must appeal), he said he would consider a specialist one-day career. “Would it mean I didn’t have to play four-day cricket?”The side on paper yesterday morning did not much seem to resemble one that might lift the World Cup in 2007, but then there might have been a time when a combination including Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist and McGrath looked like stumblebums. England contained only two players from the side who lost the corresponding fixture last year. They had to start somewhere.Where they did so was in winning the toss, batting and losing their first four wickets for 44 runs All the victims were lbw against the swinging white ball.

Solanki, the new opener, played loosely and was the first to depart.The next three wickets all fell to the Australian Mike Kasprowicz, for two runs in 11 balls He bowled full and straight. Vaughan had one that was too good for him, the debutant Jim Troughton shouldered arms, and Andrew Flintoff was squared up Vaughan, the Test batting hero, needs one-day runs The number on the back of his shirt is 99. What he would do for that many at present.Amid this potential carnage, Marcus Trescothick played assertively, as did Anthony McGrath. McGrath has not yet met much real opposition but he looks at home internationally. He made exactly 50 from 60 balls and later injured his left groin while fielding, though not seriously.Trescothick was bowled round his legs, but two tiros, Clarke and Kabir Ali, and Gough wagged well. Clarke was run out by a deft piece of work from Robert Croft.