Barring injury, there must be a bevy more caps on the horizon.
This remarkable young slow left arm bowler from Leinster burst onto the international stage at the Twenty20 World Cup in Guyana last year and marked his arrival with three wickets against the West Indies. It remains his most memorable performance, but George’s world has moved on significantly since that unforgettable appearance at Providence.
George Dockrell is a product of the Cricket Ireland youth system and he has graduated into the senior team in record time having gone through all the important stages of his cricket development. A confident, but modest individual, he is highly complimentary of the people who have helped mould what many people feel will be a special cricket journey;
“A number of coaches have helped me reach this level and I’m extremely grateful to people like Brian O’Rourke, Brian Gailey, Adi Birrell, Mark Garroway and of course Phil Simmons. You can’t reach this level of cricket without a lot of commitment and support from coaches and it says much for the Ireland set-up that our current squad includes a number of young players that have come through the youth system.”
George’s success in the Caribbean opened doors of opportunity to go professional and several counties sought his signature. He eventually joined Somerset where he had previous connections, and he is eagerly looking forward to establishing himself with the West Country team;
“I like the Somerset set-up and the whole atmosphere around Taunton. It is a cricket community where everyone is friendly and very encouraging. I’ve found the transition easy so far, but I know it is going to be a tough challenge to establish myself in my first season”
Somerset has produced some fine cricketers down the years and at one time boasted a fine team that included the great Ian Botham, and West Indians Joe Garner and Viv Richards. The county team is currently in the Caribbean playing in the regional Twenty/20 competition and George got the opportunity to meet Sir Everton Weekes, one of the legends of the game. There may be 68 years between them, but when the subject is cricket the years are irrelevant and the great man was very generous in his praise of George and gave him every encouragement to succeed.
So what lies ahead for Ireland’s youngest protégée and what are his ambitions heading into 2011? Does he aspire to play for England and where does he see Cricket Ireland down the line?
“Obviously I want to establish myself at Somerset and this will be a big priority, but I also want to play my part in taking Cricket Ireland to another level. We have done well to reach our current status and the World Cup will be another great opportunity to perform against the top countries. There is a lot of talk about test status and players wanting to play test cricket, but we have to take each step as it comes. I want to grow with Cricket Ireland and with more of our players in the county set-up this will greatly help our development. We also have Ed Joyce back in the Ireland team and exciting young players like Paul Stirling coming through, so it is an exciting time for us. The youth set-up has already identified the next generation of Ireland players and they are knocking on the door, so we have a solid structure going forward and a great coach who works well with the players. “
Exciting times indeed, and let’s watch the progress of George Dockrell with interest as this is a young player with immense talent, who in cricket terms “has the whole world in his hands.”
Clarence Hiles
Editor
