Gerard Dooley

Proud father Gerard Dooley with young son John

Gerard jumped the fence at the Eastern Oval by the Curators house one Spring afternoon in 1977 and it so happened that the Mt Clear under 14's were training. He walked the walk of glory down the grassed unkept embankment into the dustbowl basin where the practice nets were, joined in, and got out some 25 years later. He worked his way through the 14's and 16's before playing senior cricket through most of the grades. Played a small number of A Grade games but predominantly seconds and thirds.Gerard was lucky enough to play in two premierships along with numerous Grand finals, but more so met some great people along the way and spent most of my time at Mt Clear with a smile on his face.

What are you up to?

Working at Central Highlands Water as Manager Treatment, enjoying a spot of fishing/camping, playing some very bad golf and taking a keen interest in John's performances for Mt Clear.

Are you playing cricket?

No. Unfortunately all the positive responses to "are you right for another over" have taken their toll! Umpired cricket for about 5 years after finishing as a player and now playing of my cricket through John! We are going ok at the moment! I'll jump off if things turn sour!

Where are you living?

Still haven't been past the last set of traffic lights in Ballarat.

What’s your best memory from playing cricket at Mt.Clear?

Every week you got to spend a full day with a bunch of good blokes and talk absolute garbage whilst playing cricket in a competitive fashion. It was a bit like a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook session on a cricket field! Once held the club record for being the only Captain at Mt Clear to give Scud a run on the ground during a game for premiership points (Not sure if that record is still held!).*

*Editors note: Shaun Jeffrey now shares this honour following Scud fielding in 2010/11 in the Fourths. Scud's effort resulted in Mt Clear not forfeiting the points given that David Peverill was having coffee in Maldon assuming cricket had been cancelled.

What was your toughest time at Mt.Clear?

Originally I would have said facing a rampant Neil Lee/Robert Orr combination with the second new ball or losing Grand Finals when seemingly to be commanding positions, but losing a good friend suddenly overrides all of that.

Can you remember a funny story from when you played at Mt.Clear?

Too many to cover but I will mention a few;

I recall the day Pearcy was run out without facing a ball, returned to the clubrooms and took a shower (must have been warm at the non strikers end!).

Also the day Pev nailed an opening batsman at the Eastern Oval with a short one, knocked him out cold and then ran him out as he lay unconscious face first on the ground with his toes just on the wrong side of the popping crease, followed by the obligatory Pev spray!! Of course we called him back when he woke up but unfortunately he was unable to resume his innings!! For the record the scorebook read " Retired Hurt"!

There was also a day when Buzzard delivered a thank-you speech to the Grovedale CC after they hosted us for a practice match in 89. Buzzard had attempted to iron a pair of creams on the morning of the match, burnt a massive hole in the lower leg and then put them on with the remaining six months of off season creases left on them! Looked splendid with a cucumber sandwich in hand, creased creams with a massive hole in them delivering the thank-you speech on behalf of the club!!

Who was the best player you played with?

David Tuddenham and Brett Milgate. The statistics offer enough evidence.

Who was your most annoying teammate? Why?

Chris Trollop. Supreme at his craft of annoying.

Which 5 ex-teammates would you invite around for dinner?

Snag, Tactician, Buzzard, Steve Hetherington and Spook (Loves a good story and brings youth to the group).

What 3 values are important to succeed at cricket?

Teamwork, Discipline and a love of the punt.

When will we get a chance to catch up with you at Mt.Clear?

Shortly.

Life after cricket!