David Gower is describing the moment he first saw a Wobbegong.
"But on a bad day it doesn't work, you're out and you're back in the pavilion looking at yourself in the mirror thinking - in the politest possible terms - that was not good. I've never forgotten that even if it is 20 years ago."
Equanimity
At his most nervous waiting to bat against the might of the West Indies, when "all sorts of visceral fears present themselves", Gower's anxiety crested another summit in 1990 when he walked to the wicket late on day four of the third Test against India at the Oval with his place on that winter's tour of Australia far from secure.
"I was under pressure and needed runs because I'd had a poor first innings - and we had to bat out to save the game," he recalls.
"I watched Graham Gooch and Mike Atherton for five overs and then thought, 'that's enough of that' and went back into the dressing room, went horizontal, closed my eyes and kept one ear open.
"When Gooch fell [with the score on 176], I remember walking out to bat as clearly now as if it was yesterday. It was a lovely evening; I took in the atmosphere and the light. I felt beautifully settled and batted well that night. At the close of play I thought 'I'd like to go on please'. I started really well the following day.
"I won't guarantee that going to sleep before an innings always works but the nub of that is trying to do something about the tension. However you have to wait to bat, there's no point being a nervous wreck.
"I used to enjoy a crossword and be pretty good at them, but they were a way of just occupying the mind with something else. Nervous tension can keep you going but it can also drain you and it's the same out in the middle so you have to learn how to switch on and off.
"As with most things in life equanimity is everything. Just go with the flow, enjoy it and smile."
The records show that Gower made an unbeaten 157 off 270 balls to help England save the Test and win the three Test series 1-0. He went on to score 407 runs in the 1990/91 Ashes series at 45.22 - a tally only topped by Gooch (426 at 53) - on a tour which featured
the infamous Tiger Moth incident...
But that's another story entirely... one you can hear more about on Monday's edition of
Sporting Chapters.
David Gower's autobiography, 'An Endangered Species', is published by Simon and Schuster and is available now in hardback and on Kindle.
