 | There should have been a lot more sensitivity for a person of Gough's standing |
England chairman of selectors David Graveney has publicly apologised to Darren Gough for the way his omission from the World Cup squad was handled. When England revealed the 30 names in the preliminary squad they said Gough, Tim Bresnan and Ian Blackwell were not fit - and would not be fit in time.
Gough, holding an England record 235 wickets in one-day cricket, was only told of his fate via text message.
"What I said at the time was not right," conceded Graveney.
Gough and Blackwell were both upset to have subsequently been perceived as unfit and overweight.
And Graveney admitted: "Particularly with Darren's years of service for England I should have dealt with it in a far better way.
"Both men were assessed in terms of their current fitness status.
"Things have been portrayed in a slightly insulting way to Darren, which I regret; he is very professional and does a lot of work in order to keep himself fit.
"The bottom line is the selectors have chosen to stick with younger bowlers and therefore that is the most appropriate reason why Darren has not been included.
"There should have been a lot more sensitivity for a person of his standing.
"One great quality about Darren is that he backs himself and still thinks he has a role to play.
"Ian is coming back from a particularly serious shoulder injury.
"That process is going well but the fact he hasn't played any cricket was the underlying reason for him not being selected."
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