Alex Doolan went close to scoring a century on debut against South Africa. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images
THE rise of the talented yet humble Alex Doolan from the Scotch Oakburn cricket fields to the Test arena in South Africa comes as no surprise to those who have watched him emerge through the ranks.
A supremely elegant and gifted batsman, Doolan will never forget his debut in the baggy green cap last week, when he scored a composed 27 and 89 on a two-paced wicket to help steer Australia to a 1-0 series lead against the best team in the world.
And although the South Africans have declared they intend to target the Tasmanian in the Second Test at Port Elizabeth starting tonight, his former club and state coaches all agree Doolan has the temperament and technique to flourish.
Former Launceston coach Jade Selby was at the helm when Doolan — whose dad Bruce played 12 first class matches for Tasmania in the 1970s — first joined the club as a teenager, where it took a solitary first grade match for him to be convinced there was a bright future.
“Scotch Oakburn had an under-16 team in the comp so he didn’t come across to Launnie until after that,’’ Selby told the Mercury yesterday.
“He played a bit of seconds and thirds. We all saw he had talent but weren’t sure whether he really wanted to play.
“Then at the start of the next year we just had a hunch and picked him in A grade for the second round, batted him at four and kept him there all year.”
Doolan moved to Hobart ahead of the 2004-05 season, landed a state rookie contract two years later and made his first class debut against NSW in 2009-10 on the back of sheer weight of runs in grade cricket, which also saw him crowned the Emerson Rodwell medallist in 2007-08.
Dan Marsh was captain when Doolan played his maiden Shield match and said that, despite his rise, Doolan had remained the same down-to-earth person.
“He is just a really nice bloke and will do anything for you and his mates. He is great to have in our team,’’ Marsh said.
“It will be the same in the Australian team.”
Tasmania’s most successful coach, Tim Coyle, agreed Doolan was ready to be a long-term Test batsman.
“The foundations were there very early in the piece for him to be a good longer form of the game player,’’ Coyle said.
“He is a very measured individual, he has always had a very good knowledge of the game and a good knowledge of his own game.
“Playing at the level he is now I’m sure he will place an even higher value on his wicket.”