George Dawkes
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Virat Kohli
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
- KL Rahul
- Rohit Sharma
- Shubman Gill
- Suryakumar Yadav
Alphabetically sorted top ten of players who have played the most matches across formats in the last 12 months
Full Name
George Owen Dawkes
Born
July 19, 1920, Aylestone Park, Leicester
Died
August 10, 2006, Leicester, (aged 86y 22d)
Batting Style
Right hand Bat
Fielding Position
Wicketkeeper
In the days of greener pitches
and meanly hostile Derbyshire
seam bowlers George Dawkes was
the perfect ally for Les Jackson.
Dawkes, a consistent and reliable
wicketkeeper, held 254 catches off
Jackson, including all three in a
hat-trick against Worcestershire at
Kidderminster in 1958. They even
shared second testimonials in 1962.
Dawkes made his debut
for Leicestershire against
Nottinghamshire at Worksop in 1937
at 17 and was capped the following
season. A long reign appeared likely
but his career with his native county
tailed away because, when cricket
resumed in 1946 after the Second
World War, Dawkes was still serving
in the Royal Air Force and not due for
demobilisation until December, 1947.
Leicestershire recalled Paddy Corrall,
who played until 1951, and Derbyshire
engaged Dawkes on a special
registration in 1947.
He took leave from the RAF to
make his debut against Yorkshire at
Scarborough in August, then slotted
into a great Derbyshire tradition
that for 86 years made the post of
reserve wicketkeeper one of the least
rewarding in cricket as four men
wore the gloves with domination: Joe
Humphries from 1899 until the First
World War, Harry Elliott from 1920 to
1939, Dawkes to 1961, Bob Taylor until
retirement in 1984.
Between 1950 and 1961 Dawkes
played in 287 Championship games
running until a knee injury ended
the sequence. A cartilage operation
followed by a car accident meant
Dawkes did not play in 1962 and,
seeing Taylor's potential, he retired.
Dawkes was tall for a wicketkeeper
but agile and had safe hands. He
ended with 1,041 dismissals and
the 147 stumpings suggested he
was equally good standing up - not
that there was much call for spin in
those Derbyshire sides. He was also
a powerful batsman, scoring 11,411
runs at an average of 18.08, including
a rousing 143 against Hampshire at
Burton in 1954. He always aimed for
swift progress to allow the bowlers
more time.
Dawkes' only taste of international
cricket was on a Commonwealth
tour to India in 1949-50 but his
contribution to Derbyshire was
immense.
Gerald Mortimer September 2006
This obituary first appeared in the October 2006 edition of The Wisden Cricketer
George Dawkes Career Stats
Batting & Fielding
Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100s | Ct | St |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FC | 482 | 736 | 105 | 11411 | 143 | 18.08 | 1 | 894 | 147 |
Bowling
Format | Mat | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FC | 482 | 20 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Recent Matches of George Dawkes
Match | Bat | Wkt | Date | Ground | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Derbyshire vs Nottingham | 1 | 1c/1s | 26-Apr-1961 | Nottingham | FC |
Derbyshire vs Indians | 54 & 32* | 0c/0s & 1c/0s | 27-Jun-1959 | Chesterfield | FC |
Derbyshire vs Gloucs | 30 & 6 | 3c/0s & 1c/0s | 06-Jul-1957 | Gloucester | FC |
Derbyshire vs Oxford Uni | 29 & 27 | 0c/0s & 0c/1s | 13-Jun-1956 | Oxford | FC |
Pearce's XI vs Sth Africans | 6 & 10* | 2c/1s & 0c/0s | 07-Sep-1955 | Scarborough | FC |