Doggett in the spotlight
Toowoomba features in new Big Bash League book
CRICKET: It was been a breakout year for Toowoomba quick Brendan Doggett.
As well as shining for the Brisbane Heat and Queensland Bulls, the young fast bowler was named in the Australian Test squad touring the United Arab Emirates.
Doggett did not feature in Australia’s loss to Pakistan in the two Test series but he is now on the selectors’ radar.
The 24-year-old, who has taken seven wickets in seven Big Bash League matches, will rack up another first today when he appears in the new Big Bash Superstars book.
Four pages have been dedicated to Doggett whose careerbest BBL figures are 5-35.
Following is an extract from the book which is on sale from today.
Brendan Doggett can sometimes be seen before training at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field pausing to admire the statue that honours the indigenous Queensland fast bowler Eddie Gilbert, the man who stunned the nation by dismissing Don Bradman for a duck in his opening over of a 1931 Sheffield Shield match.
After a wicket with his first delivery, Gilbert was pitted against the great Bradman. The paceman, who had powerful wrists that were reportedly strengthened by years of boomerang throwing, was unperturbed. After Bradman fended off his first ball, Gilbert bowled a short lifting delivery. Bradman lost his balance while trying to avoid the ball—and crashed to the turf.
A faster, shorter one followed. Gilbert continued the assault, knocking the bat out of Bradman’s hands with his next ball, and when the great man attempted to hook Gilbert’s next delivery he was caught by the keeper. In later years Bradman would describe Gilbert as the fastest bowler he’d ever faced.
Gilbert’s dream of being presented with an Australian Test cap was crushed when he was called for chucking—by 1936 his career was over. Yet he remains an inspiration to today’s generation of indigenous players making their marks in the Big Bash, including Doggett, D’Arcy Short, Dan Christian, Jake Weatherald, Josh Lalor and the WBBL’s Ashleigh Gardner.
“The Eddie Gilbert statue is a reminder of my heritage,” said Doggett, whose mother’s people, the Worimi, hail from the Port Stephens/Great Lakes region of New South Wales. “It reminds me of where I come from, and where previous indigenous cricketers have stood.
“The Worimi were well known for being more prone to laughter than crying, and that’s my approach to cricket. I play with a smile on my face because, if you don’t, you won’t have fun and that would make it hard to give your best.”
GET YOUR COPY: Big Bash Superstars, published by Allen & Unwin, is available today. The book which focuses on male and female Big Bash heroes is a great read for all cricket and sport fans.
Photo: ROB BLAKERS