Gooch and Atherton bat together in 1995

But he has been a great friend to a lot of players and offered wise counsel to many over the years.

The way he handles himself and the influence he has will be missed from the England dressing room.

His levels of concentration and determination have been the hallmarks of his career and whoever steps into his role, be it Butcher or Vaughan, will have very big shoes to fill.

The innings that stands out for me was his unbeaten 185 in Johannesburg to save the Test against South Africa.

He virtually single-handedly defied the South African attack and that innings typified the kind of player he was.

Success on the field was rare for Atherton

What most people will remember about Mike Atherton would be his strength in adversity.

He always seemed to perform at his best when England's backs were to the wall and there were few other players you would want in your corner.

His technique was perfectly suited for Test cricket and he never gave anything away when he was out in the middle.

He may have appeared a dour character on the field, but he was anything but that in the dressing room.

Like anyone else he would like a beer and enjoy a joke but he developed a way of coping with the media.

Atherton enjoys a joke off the field

He would deliberately be not very talkative and not display his emotions, which led to people thinking he was rather dour.

Not only will England miss his stoicism at the top of the order, but also the dressing room will be a tidier place.

I don't know whether it was because he was an ex-university boy, but his kit was always strewn all over the place.

In more ways than one he will be missed.