A Q&A WITH LEINSTER'S LATEST IRISH STAR GAVIN HOEY

It has been quite a few months for Gavin Hoey, a key member of the dominant Pembroke CC team in the Leinster Premier league, and whose first call-up to the Ireland squad in September, resulted in his ODI debut against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in October.

Gavin (GH) has kindly agreed to be interviewed by Cricket Leinster’s Brian O’Rourke (BO’R) from Australia, to discuss his experiences, his goals, and what message he would like to deliver to the Leinster Youth cricketers starting on their journey this month.

BOR -

Gavin, I have to start by saying congratulations.  The call-up was well earned, you are someone we have been saying to many cricketing colleagues they should watch out for since 2019 and it is great to see you gain the recent opportunity of a debut against South Africa.

GH

Appreciate that Brían! It’s something I’ve been working towards for a very long time now, to play for Ireland. Although I definitely didn’t go as well as I may have liked, it was an amazing experience to debut against such a strong nation like South Africa. I’m hoping that now I have gotten through my first few games that I can put in some match winning performances soon!

BO’R - I guess for those reading who do not know you, we just need to start by asking you to outline a little about yourself.

GH

Well, I’ll start briefly with my introduction to cricket. I have played cricket around the side of the pitch and nets in what was known as CYM CC (now Terenure CC) since I was able to hold a bat and ball. Usually watching my dad Conor playing.

However, I moved to Pembroke CC at the age of 10 to play for their u11s. I still play my cricket at Sydney Parade and managed to win the Premier League this year with our 1^st X1. I also play some of the Cricket Leinster competitions for Dublin University CC who I have also captained over the last two seasons.

As a kid I’d play any sport I could, this was thoroughly encouraged throughout my primary school life at St Olaf’s NS in Balally, Dundrum where I played lots of hurling and Gaelic football. I then went to Blackrock College for secondary school where I played lots of rugby and golf in the first few years. I always kept cricket up during the summers though and decided to focus on it as my main sport letting the others go a bit from the age of 15. This was all with the goal of playing for the Ireland U19s at a World Cup.

I finished up in Blackrock when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and ended up receiving predicted grades rather than sitting the Leaving Cert. I managed to get enough points to go into BESS at Trinity College and have just graduated in May earlier this year.

BO’R – Can you talk us through how this opportunity with Ireland came about?

GH

I started my representative cricket with the Leinster u11s and worked my way up the age groups of Leinster cricket. I played in the youth interprovincial competitions from u11s to u17s which was where the Irish underage squads were selected from. Some of the highlights included playing in the u13 Taunton competition where we played against all of the English county teams in a week-long tournament held at King’s College. That was my first realisation that cricket in Ireland could compete with that in the county circuit in England. This gave me great confidence having put in some performances against the best that England had to offer. Another highlight for me was my exchange to St Stithians College in Johannesburg, organised over a many number of years for our young cricketers by Cricket Leinster. This three-month long exchange provided me with an amazing opportunity to play cricket in one of the top cricketing schools in South Africa. As well as the high standard of cricket and training, the trip was amazing in terms of living away from home for an extended period of time. I was very lucky to have such a great host family in the De Sousa’s and Jodi came over the following Irish summer to stay with us and play for the Brook’. This was an incredible experience and provided me with such great memories, new friends and ultimately opened my eyes to an extremely high standard of cricket.

I managed to make my age group for most of the Irish squads all the way to u19s cricket. With amazing opportunities all the way through, playing in many competitive series such as the “Celtic Cup” vs Scotland, and tours to Jersey, Worcester and Surrey to name a few.

I was set to play for the Irish u19s side in the World Cup qualifiers in Rotterdam in 2019 but managed to pick up a stress related injury in my back in training the week before after struggling with it for some time. At the time, this was the worst thing in the world. However, it seems like a bit of a blessing in disguise as I made the switch to leg spin bowling the following year which completely shifted my complexion as a player in a great way. I don’t think my dream of playing for Ireland would have come to fruition if I was still bowling my ‘away swingers’!

BO’R - Just picking up on that point, could you describe the difference between say Leinster Lightning to say the Ireland Senior National team setup?

GH

I think in terms of training, there is a high level of intensity in both skill training and our strength and conditioning work with the Irish setup. The standards are set extremely high by the best players in the country, and it really shows at these training sessions. However, the depth in Cricket Leinster is becoming increasingly obvious with the standard of club cricket, the Lightning Bolts and Leinster Lightning setups all improving continuously.

We had an extremely successful summer for the Lightning winning both the IP50 and IP20 which was great to be a part of. Our depth really showed when we had fixtures on during the T20 World Cup for example where we missed lots of our core international players. Having this high standard of cricket mainly played mid-week is ultimately how I’ve managed to try to improve as a player over the last number of years.

BO’R – It would be amiss not to ask, what was it like making your debut against South Africa? Did you get to enjoy it and did your family get to attend?

GH

It was an incredible experience. To play against such a strong nation was always going to be a challenge in your first few games, but I tried my best to relish that challenge and give it my best go. As I said, it has been a dream of mine for a long time to represent my country at the highest level. My dad, Conor did actually manage to make it over for the first two ODI’s which I was lucky enough to play. That was a nice moment for both of us, to have him cheering me on from the air-conditioned stands!

BO’R – We are starting with another generation of young cricketers in Leinster at present.  I know you remember your time with CL, but is there one memory that you look back on as career-changing?

GH

I think all of the opportunities I was given to play for any of the youth sides with both Leinster and Ireland were invaluable. All of the games I played against the county teams as well as the youth interpros are a great chance to make a bit of a name for yourself as a player to watch out for. However, in my second match for the Lightning, I managed to be player of the match taking a couple of wickets in a T20 match in Bready. I think that gave me real confidence in terms of what I’m capable of doing on my day, especially having just changed to leg spin the season before.

BO’R – Something we ask all of our graduates is to come back, give a session to the CL squads and speak with the young players about your experiences as they certainly look up to people like you. 

GH

Yes, of course. I remember being coached by the likes of Barry McCarthy and Shane Getkate at our Leinster u11 sessions. The messages they passed onto me always stuck with me growing up, to work hard no matter what you’re doing.

I think if I was to give some advice to an 11-year-old me, it would be to work on your weaknesses in your game, not just practising the parts of cricket that you are good at. As well as that, make the most of the coaching staff around you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions as that is how we all learn new things about the game.

BO’R – It has been a busy few months, with an excellent double for Pembroke domestically, a dominant Inter-Pro win for Leinster, and now the Ireland caps against South Africa.  How does this impact your strategies and goals for next season?

GH

Yes, it was a great year, and as I said I was lucky to be playing in such strong teams like Pembroke and the Lightning side. I think on a personal side of things it's been great to contribute to these wins from time to time. Looking to next season, I’d love to try to become a regular player in the Irish side through performing on that international stage, if selected. Having just finished my undergrad at University, I have certainly boxed off this year as a big one to give cricket a real crack! I’m currently out in Sydney playing grade cricket for UNSW CC for the winter which has been brilliant so far. It’s a great chance to play an extremely high level of cricket and learn to play on the flat pitches that are on offer here in Australia.

BO’R - We will finish on that powerful message Gavin of grabbing every opportunity that comes before you with both hands.  Thank you for your time and such candid insights. Good luck with all your goals in cricket this year, your current season in Sydney and I look forward, as do so many across Leinster, to watching you become the Ireland cricketer you deserve to be.