Essex aim to exploit Gough's experience

Darren Gough arrived at Essex by helicopter and insisted he was never going to sign for any other county after his departure from Yorkshire.

The 33-year-old, who left his home county to be closer to his family in the south, signed a three-year-contract with Essex at the County Ground in Chelmsford.

Gough, who has retired from Test cricket but still hopes to return to England's one-day side, revealed there had been interest from five other counties. But, although he had spoken to three of the interested parties, Essex was always his first choice.

He said: "From the front, it was always going to be Essex. People always try and persuade you otherwise and it was a difficult decision but deep down, I knew it was going to be Essex."

Gough said his rapport with many of the existing players and coaches at Essex had played a major part in his decision. "Paul Grayson, who is my best mate, Ronnie Irani, who I've known since we were 18 years old having toured with him for young England, Nasser Hussain, who captained me and whom I have enormous respect for, and Graham Gooch, who is respected as a coach around the world, are here. The club is run by cricketers. They've had success in the past and I'm sure they can have it again which is the reason I'm here."

Recurring knee problems have hindered Gough recently but the fast bowler is determined to play a full role for his new county.

"I've not just come here to play a bit part but any fast bowler now has to go with the flow and it's about communication between the player, the coach and the skipper," he said. "We all know that; we've discussed it and I'm here to play as much cricket as possible."

He said he still hopes for an England recall, adding: "That's the idea. I've come to a county where I think I can keep going.

"I've retired from the Tests now but I still want to play international one-day cricket. I'm still ambitious and I still want to win trophies and I think this is the place where I can achieve those things."

Gooch said Gough would boost the county both on and off the field. "Darren will give us great experience on the field but it's what he will bring to the dressing room that is also very important," he said. "We have a number of young bowlers and he has masses of experience that he can impart to them. You can't put a price on that. The way he plays his cricket and the success he's had with both Yorkshire and England will go a long way to bringing our younger bowlers on in the future."

* Murray Goodwin has agreed to return as one of Sussex's overseas players for 2004. The former Zimbabwe Test batsman last September scored the winning runs when Sussex clinched their first Championship title. Sussex chose to retain the services of the Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed on the only longer overseas contract permitted under new regulations.