George Owen Dawkes (19 July 1920 – 10 August 2006) was a first-class cricketer who played for Leicestershire between 1937 and 1939 and for Derbyshire between 1947 and 1961 as a wicket keeper and a lower-order right-handed batsman.
[2] He played in 11 matches in the 1937 season as replacement for the injury-prone main wicketkeeper, Percy Corrall, taking 13 catches and making four stumpings.
For a player who later earned a reputation as a solid lower-order batsman, his batting record was singular: in 17 innings, he made 53 runs, and never once reached double figures.
"[5] Dawkes served with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and was not discharged in time to take part in county cricket on its resumption in 1946.
[6] For some matches when Smith was injured, Derbyshire had recalled prewar wicketkeeper Harry Elliott, believed at the time to be 51, but in reality 55 years of age.
He is also third on the list of Derbyshire wicketkeepers, behind his successor, Bob Taylor and Harry Elliott, for catches, stumpings and overall dismissals.
Dawkes' own prospects were limited by the inclusion of Jock Livingston, the Australian batsman who could also keep wicket, as the side's captain.
Dawkes' reliability as a wicketkeeper was commented on in many editions of Wisden across the 1950s, but his season figures were rarely spectacular, Derbyshire relying heavily on a fast bowling attack consisting for the bulk of Dawkes' career of Les Jackson and Cliff Gladwin, which gave a lot of chances to slip fielders such as Donald Carr, as well as behind the wicket.