Premier Cricket: English quick George Garton to make Northcote debut

VIDEO: Northcote will unleash a left-arm quick dubbed ‘the future of English fast bowling’ who has been likened to Mitchell Starc this weekend. Watch his highlights here.

Matt Short carves a drive through the covers for Northcote.

Northcote will unleash a left-arm quick dubbed ‘the future of English fast bowling’ who has been likened to Mitchell Starc this weekend.

Highly-rated paceman George Garton, who has represented Sussex and the English Lions, will make his Premier Cricket debut on Saturday against Greenvale Kangaroos.

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The 21-year-old arrives at the perfect time for Northcote, which is fighting to stay in finals contention after four losses in five rounds to start 2018-19.

“He’s been away with the English Lions and he comes into our team fully fit,” Dragons coach Steve Taylor said.

“We’re very excited to see him in action.

“He’s only a young lad, just 21, and hopefully he can swing the ball a bit over here and get it through at decent pace.”

Garton has taken 24 wickets in 10 first-class matches and was on the fringes of the English squad ahead of last year’s Ashes series.

Joel Hamilton’s injury will open the door for George Garton to make an immediate impact. Picture: Josie Hayden

“Hopefully he can alleviate some of the issues we have been having with not being able to make an impact early,” Taylor said.

Garton will be a direct replacement for injured quick Joel Hamilton, who has succumbed to a knee injury.

Taylor said Northcote was awaiting scan results to determine the extent of a “wear and tear” injury sustained by Hamilton.

“He comes in at a good time because Joel Hamilton has had to have scans on his knee as well and that doesn’t look good,” he said.

“Joel has spearheaded our attack in recent times and he is looking at an indefinite absence.”

The Dragons were dismissed for 192 against St Kilda on Saturday, falling to a 186-run defeat after conceding 5-378.

Northcote has only taken 10 wickets once this season — in Round 1 against Kingston Hawthorn — and Taylor said the onus was on the club’s bowlers to lift.

“It’s a position we didn’t really want ourselves to be in,” Taylor said.

“The one-run loss to Camberwell really hurts us in hindsight. It was always going to.

“But it’s a big difference between 2-3 and 1-4. We have just got to stick to our guns.”

The Dragons are 16th on the table after six rounds, 10 points outside the top eight.

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