When Winston Davis terrorised the Australian batting line-up

Winston Davis on his wheelchair at his home in Bewdley, Worcester in 2011. Photo courtesy: Clayton Murzello/ MiD DAY Infomedia.

On June 12, 1983, Winston Davis registered figures of 10.3-0-51-7 – the best-ever at that time in One-Day Internationals at the time — against Australia at Headingley, to put West Indies back on track in the World Cup. Karthik Parimal looks back at that famous spell.

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In the English summer of 1983, the Prudential World Cup kicked off amidst great frenzy, and the emergence of weaker teams on top, against quality oppositions during the initial stages, added to the level of fervour. West Indies were beaten by a lowly India in their first group match, whereas the Australians were dealt the same fate by newcomers Zimbabwe. Hence, stakes were high as these two troubled teams met at Leeds, for a win was now imperative. The West Indians had ringed in a few changes and Winston Davis was one of the fresh faces who’d been asked to don the maroon cap.

Davis was an unknown quantity in a line-up that featured tearaway, fear-inducing speedsters like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts. Perhaps the Australians breathed a sigh of relief on finding out that Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, the other two venomous pacers, were injured and hence left out, but what they would not have envisioned is one of the replacements carrying out a destruction that could have easily been the work of the aforesaid duo in tandem. Prior to this fixture, Davis featured in just one One-Day International (ODI), during which there were hardly any noteworthy traits.

Spell of a lifetime

But he entered a different zone on June 12, 1983. West Indies batted the previous day and posted a healthy 252 from their 60 overs, owing to Larry Gomes’s 78 and a lower-order resistance, before rain played spoilsport and deferred Australia’s run-chase. The next morning, the likes of Holding and Robert would have licked their lips at the prospect of bowling under tricky weather. Kepler Wessels was the first to go as Roberts’s blinding pace shattered his timber, and this after Holding’s bouncer struck Graeme Wood on the side of the head, forcing him to retire hurt. He was driven to the hospital with a concussion.

Meanwhile, West Indian skipper Clive Lloyd tossed the ball to Winston Davis and, the Australian batsmen — mainly David Hookes and Kim Hughes, who received much-needed respite from the torturous pace of Holding and Roberts, duly took him to the cleaners. After five overs of bowling down the slope, Davis finally expressed his displeasure to Lloyd at the end given to him. The latter, understanding his bowler’s predicament, gave him a go from the other end. To say Davis responded in style would be an understatement.

He immediately accounted for the wickets of Hughes, and although Hookes and Graham Yallop set out to consolidate, they fell to Davis, all three scalps coming in the form of catches. Thereafter, none of the Australian batsmen managed to drop anchor. Allan Border, Ken MacLeay and Rod Marsh fell in quick succession while attempting to hit out, before wicket-keeper Jeff Dujon held on to a fine edge off Geoff Lawson’s blade. Only Dennis Lillee, Davis’s seventh and last wicket of the match, was clean bowled. With figures of 10.3-0-51-7, he stormed into the record books for, at the time, it was the best-ever figures in the history of ODIs. The last six wickets were pocketed for only 14 runs.

The result and aftermath

The Australians were shot out for 151, thereby conceding victory by a whopping margin of 101 runs. Davis shot to limelight with that spell and Lloyd had a fresh problem before him, albeit a good one, for he had a pool of bowlers to choose from. He retained Davis for four more group matches, but the speedster responded with just one more wicket in those fixtures. He was duly dropped for the semi-final and final, but perhaps not just because of his insipid performances in the lead up to those games; by now, Garner and Marshall were fit and ready for action.

Now 54, Winston Davis now resides at Bewdley in Worcester spends most of his day on a batter-powered wheelchair after a freak accident in 1997 while helping to build a church. He was hit on the back of his head by the branch of a tree he was cutting.

Brief scores:

West Indies 252 for 9 in 60 overs (Larry Gomes 78, Faoud Bacchus 47; Geoff Lawson 3 for 29) beat Australia 151 in 30.3 overs (David Hookes 45, Graham Yallop 29; Winston Davis 7 for 51) by 101 runs.

(Karthik Parimal, a Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/karthik_parimal )