David Gower: One of England's greatest deserves a better curtain call

NICK HOWSON: A small London theatre was the scene of the exit into the shadows of one of the most nimble batsmen to grace the sport

House lights down, a rig of bulbs dimmed; David Gower exits stage left.

He struggles through the black curtain, searching for the stage door. Stumbling through the covering, he eventually finds refuge between the backdrop and backstage and finally out of sight. A future call from Strictly Come Dancing is not imminent.

It was a rather unedifying exit for one of the most elegant batsmen Test cricket has ever seen. Since taking his leave from Sky Sports, Gower has told his story during a 19-date tour of UK towns and cities including hotspots such as Corby, Stamford and Cleckheaton. Channelling David Brent "I travel boy," the 62-year-old could say.

The Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden, a stone's throw from street performers posing as human statues, is where Gower's near-45-year spell in the public spotlight comes to a standstill.

'On The Front Foot' is a first-person account of the fulcrum of Gower's playing career. To all intents and purposes, it is a one-man show, with no mediator to push him on the finer details of a stellar tenure lasting 18 years. Nevertheless, with two decades of experience as a broadcaster, Gower needs no introduction over how to captivate an audience with eloquent story-telling.

^{After 20 years with Sky Sports, David Gower was offloaded at the end of the summer}

His stage is typically understated yet littered with cricket memorabilia. A touring trunk containing two bats - there is no masterclass, however - and a helmet lies on the floor.

A small table is stacked with a selection of books including one of his own and Chris Gayle's 'Six Machine' while a drinks globe containing a selection of empty wine bottles stands nearby. The setup is quintessentially Gower.

Having grown used to a quick-witted, sometimes even droll approach during interviews and in his media career, Gower lets the shackles off straight away.

Barely 15 minutes in we're three "f****" down. The ice is broken, so to speak. The assembled audience are almost aghast at the chosen language.

"Once England captain" Chris Cowdrey, Sir Ian Botham and Mike Gatting dominate the evening of tales from tours gone by, off-the-field japes and backroom politics.

The stories themselves, perhaps illuminated by the Tiger Moth incident which cost he and John Morris £1,000, engage those both who regard themselves as Gower experts and others drawn to the event due to their love for cricket.

For the fair-weather fans out there, there are plenty of visual aids to punctuate the monologue. A map surely lifted directly from the board game Risk dominates the backdrop, with Gower's head floating around the screen from continent to continent, as his career develops.

Later, we see footage from his infamous demise at Adelaide in the fourth Test of the 1990-91 Ashes series - perhaps the most famous dismissal of his career.

^{The after-dinnner circuit is awaiting David Gower}

Either side of Gower's outing is the long-run of The Play That Goes Wrong, an almost vaudevillian comedy from start to finish. Fortunately, there no such direct links can be made between the box-office hit and Gower's first attempt at treading the boards.

He keeps his audience suitably entertained for two-and-a-half hours, even answering a selection of questions submitted during the interval. Many were flat-batted away but the willingness to engage in such a session displays a desire to absorb.

The question is, what will follow?

A scorer 8,231 Test runs, still, the fourth highest in England's history deserves a better fate than the after-dinner circuit.

Yet, having been dismissed by Sky - a decision Gower had seen coming for some years - he is bound for a move into the shadows. The brief foray onto BBC Radio 4 will not be repeated, and no other offers have yet been forthcoming.

With another quip and a story about an inebriated Botham sinking his head into iced water in Australia, Gower disappears into the night.

A legend of British sport evaporates out of the public eye. Of course, he deserves the peace and sanctuary of normal life, but you can't help but feel we're being wrongly deprived of a man with a fountain of knowledge and plenty of inclination to share it.

We can only hope that common sense prevails.