The ball might not have been the best, but Darren Gough didn't care an iota.

When Rashid Latif flicked a ball down the legside to wicket-keeper Alec Stewart just before lunch at Lord's on Sunday, Gough had claimed his 200th Test scalp.

Yet surprisingly, the cheeky Yorkshireman did not burst into wild celebrations.

His engaging smile danced across his face and he has his arms aloft, but he knew, like his team-mates, that the job of dismissing Pakistan was unfinished.

His first Test bow came in the third match against New Zealand in 1994 and his impact was almost instantaneous.

But strangely it was not with the ball but the bat. He clubbed 65 batting at number nine at Old Trafford and then followed that up with four wickets to force the Kiwis to follow-on.

His first five-wicket 'bag' (he now boasts eight) came in a memorable match against Australia six months later in Sydney.

He claimed six for 49 and then back that up with 51. Remarkably, he has yet to take a 10 wicket haul in a Test match.

But after making a bright start to his Test career he was forced out of the series with a broken foot.

His on-field aggression can on occasions sometimes be misdirected and he has fallen foul of the authorities for letting his heart rule his head.

But his pride and commitment can never be questioned. Against Australia on the Ashes tour in 1998 despite the series already lost, Gough bowled his heart out to become only the ninth English bowler to snare a Test hat-trick.

The Australians, who love to deride the talents of English cricketers, have a grudging respect for Gough. To them he one of them, showing characteristics of a typical Aussie battler always giving his best in the face of adversity.

His attitude to the game evokes empathy and if England's Barmy Army of supporters have one favourite it would be the Barnsley tyke.