text: CRICKET - GOOCH TO PLAY ANOTHER SEASON FOR ESSEX . LONDON 1996-08-27 Graham Gooch , the 43-year-old former England captain , is to continue playing county cricket for at least another season , his club Essex announced on Tuesday . Opener Gooch 's decision comes towards the end of a season in which he has underlined his consistency by becoming the leading scorer in Essex 's history , beating Keith Fletcher 's aggregate of 29,434 . Gooch , who retired from test cricket after the 1994-95 tour of Australia but is now an England selector , is seventh in this season 's first-class averages with 1,429 runs at 64.95 , having hit five centuries and one double century . Essex secretary-general manager Peter Edwards said : " He is a remarkable batsman and still the best in this country . No-one will argue with that . You just have to look at his record to appreciate that fact . "