'Ebullient', rumbustious and 'pugnacious'... all adjectives used to describe the cricketing characteristics of Darren Gough during the past year, a list to which can now be added 'petulant', 'avaricious' and 'selfish'.

Harsh? Perhaps, but all is clearly not happiness and joy in the Gough household at present as typified by his current unseemly spat with ex-Yorkshire captain David Byas.

Six months ago 'Dazzler' was the stellar attraction in a rejuvenated England side still riding high on the crest of unforeseen international success but the journey since May has become more fraught with each passing week, culminating on Tuesday with a dismissive and highly personalised attack on Gough by his ex-Yorkshire captain David Byas.

Hanging out your dirty washing for public consumption has, of course, been an art perfected by years of dedicated practice at the White Rose county, but even by their lofty standards this latest unseemly squabble is descending into squalid and undesired farce.

"Basically, he's not worth bothering about," claimed Byas as he reflected on Gough's weekend outburst that life at Headingley had become "almost unbearable" due to persistent background sniping.

"In my view it's a cop-out because he's had his benefit, banked the cheque and is now off to pastures new," added Byas, who last year steered Yorkshire to their first County Championship since 1968.

"I've no sympathy for him, although I must add that I couldn't give a tinker's cuss what he does," concluded Byas.

And all this directed at a man overtly proud of his Barnsley roots and a stalwart of the Yorkshire team since his first-class debut as a chubby but unashamedly enthusiastic 19-year-old in 1989.

Since then he has risen to claim over 700 first-class wickets, including 228 for England, and yet still finds himself cast as the money-grabbing villain in a volte-face of such stunning magnitude even Alan Ayckbourn would have struggled to conjure the vicissitudes of emotional oscillation during his annual Scarborough run.

The rat-catcher's son has turned from hunter to hunted, chastised for an alleged lack of county commitment – just five championship games for Yorkshire in the past two years - and cast out from England's winter Test plans after an injudicious spot of tour cherry picking.

Add to that the glaring recent decline in his England performances - since June he has taken 17 wickets at 38.65 in five Tests – and persistent rumours he was concerned more with his benefit figures than his bowling ones and the picture becomes a little clearer.

Still, it is not the scale of Gough's dip in public and professional esteem that is so disturbing – stars will forever rise and fall at the whim of fans and critics alike – but rather the sheer speed with which it has occurred.

And while the animosity with Byas has been a slow-burning separation - "We fell out some time back," said the former captain – the breakdown of relations with the club in general has been more marked by its rapid descent.

Chris Hassell, Yorkshire's chief executive, has been an accommodating force in recent seasons but it appears even his temperance is wearing thin, especially given Gough's continual absences on international duty and his just completed (and lucrative) benefit. Take the money and run has been the gist of much of the criticism flying in the fast bowler's direction.

"We want him to play for us and I made that very clear but, on behalf of the club, I have told him we want a reply from him in the next seven days," said Hassell following Gough's weekend grumblings.

The tone may be diplomatically conciliatory but the underlying message is clear: "Put up or shut up."

Others have been less subtle, most notably Fred Trueman, Gough's long-standing verbal sparring partner.

"I couldn't care less whether he stays or leaves and I think that goes for a lot of Yorkshire people," said Trueman.

Add into the equation Gough's outspoken unease with Darren Lehmann's appointment as captain for 2002 – "I don't think we should have an overseas coach and an overseas captain... it should be a Yorkshire-born player" – and it's easy to see how the self-styled "Rhino" feels ready to charge.

Quite where is the next unanswered question, although the direction is not so hard to work out given his family's relocation to Buckinghamshire. Middlesex, Surrey, Essex and Northants have all been touted as potential employers but with performances likely to be limited by further Test calls it seems like a strange case of bedazzled suitors seeking a glamourous trophy-wife. More image than substance.

At 31 Gough still has a couple of years left in him yet and maybe the change of scenery will recharge his fading batteries, but with young thrusters such as Matthew Hoggard and Alex Tudor out to impress it would be unwise for him to assume undiluted loyalty from the likes of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher.

Hussain has been a huge fan of Gough since their days together in the England schoolboy teams and the Essex batsman looks upon his Yorkie strike-bowler as the talisman of the side, but performances count for more than reputations, as Hussain himself knows only too well.

Gough's diminishing Yorkshire returns
Year	Matches	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
2001	2	88	18	275	8	34.37
2000	3	100.5	22	245	16	15.31
1999	3	96.5	20	319	17	18.76
1998	5	156.4	28	523	21	24.90
Total	13	342.2	88	1,362	62	21.96

13 Nov, 2001