Ian Gould: 11 facts about the man who kept wickets for England and was goalkeeper of Arsenal

Ian Gould, born on August 19, 1957, in Buckimhampshire is a former English cricketer who kept for his nation during the 1983 World Cup. Ankit Banerjee takes a closer look at the multi-faceted man.

1.  English gloveman

Ian Gould kept wickets for England during the 1983 World Cup. He was more of a wicketkeeper than a batsman.

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2.  Catch as a substitute ‘keeper

Gould came in as a substitute at Melbourne during the 1982-83 Test series against Australia and took a catch to get rid of the dangerous Greg Chappell. England ended up winning a nail-biter by three runs.

3.  Arsenal goalkeeper

Gould marshalled the goalpost for Arsenal in five-a side matches. He played in the Arsenal youth team for three seasons from 1971. Arsenal won two out of three titles that season was nicknamed “Gunner”. He also played for Slough Town.

4.  Chairman of football club

Gould is chairman of English football club Burnham FC.

5.  Barbados love

Ian Gould is an avid traveller and Barbados is his favourite destination which he often visits with his family.

6.  Coach

Gould was also into coaching, though briefly. He coached Middlesex Second XI team in 1991. He also became a mentor for aspiring Middlesex players.

7.  World Cup controversy

India victory over Bangladesh in the quarter-finals of World Cup 2015 raised a furore. An appeal against Rohit Sharma went against Bangladesh. Rohit scored a match-winning 137 from 126 balls which engineered Team India into the semis. Rohit was caught at deep mid-wicket off Rubel Hossain, but Gould signalled a no-ball for the waist-high ball despite TV replays indicating it to be an absolute, legitimate delivery. It was in the 40th over with Rohit on 90 and the team total at the time was 196 when the marginal ‘no-ball’ call went in favour of the Indian opener. Rohit went onto add another 47 runs in quick time to set Bangladesh a target of 303, which they lost by 109 runs.

8.  Denying Sachin Tendulkar an ODI hundred

Adjudicating Sachin Tendulkar out when he is not is bound to draw flak. Gould gave Tendulkar out for 99 in a One-Day International in 2007 at Bristol, which Gould accepted was a mistake. Matt Prior took the catch off Andrew Flintoff’s bouncer and he felt it flicked the glove on the way, although replays showed it hit the arm guard.

9.  Baharaini Dinars

People who know him personally would know that he always carried six Baharaini Dinars in his hand to keep a tab on the number of balls being bowled in an over. Strange, but true.

10.  Elitist

Gould got his first taste of umpiring way back in 2002 officiating in English County matches. He entered the Elite Panel of Umpires seven years later.

11. Son follows in father’s footsteps

His son, Michael Gould, has played cricket for Sussex Second XI.

(A cricket geek to the tee, Ankit Banerjee smokes and snorts it all day long. The romance with the sport incepted since the 1996 World Cup semi-final. He is a winner of the 2011 edition of the All-India college cricket quiz.)