Alan Davidson: 11 facts to know about the Australian legend

Alan Davidson, born on June 14, 1929, was one of the greatest players Australia has produced. In 44 Tests, he took 186 wickets at an average of 20.53. His economy rate of 1.97 was a stand-out in that era.

Alan Davidson, born on June 14, 1929, was one of the greatest players Australia has produced. In 44 Tests, he took 186 wickets at an average of 20.53. His economy rate of 1.97 was a stand-out in that era. Davidson was also a good batsman and a fantastic fielder. Nishad Pai Vaidya picks 11 facts to know about the Australian genius. 

1.  Tough beginnings

Davidson was born in Gosford in New South Wales. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, he said that he went to a school that had only 30 students, of whom none had shoes. “I chopped wood from the age of five. I used to carry 200lb bags of wheat when I was 14. Those were terribly hard times, but each of those things taught me a lot of things: Nothing is easy. You never give in. You have always got to achieve something,” he said.

2.  Bradman’s team the inspiration

In 1938, a young Davidson saw a photo of Don Bradman’s men leaving for England on a ship. As his grandfather showed it to him, he told him that one day he would go on to play for Australia. The young boy’s dreams came true a few years down the line.

3.  Changing over to fast bowling

Initially, Davidson used to bowl left-arm spin to back his batting. Wisdennotes that he changed over to fast bowling around 1948. The switch was natural and in 1949, he was playing for New South Wales.

4.  Short run-up and the WasimAkram link

Alan Davidson and WasimAkram are considered the two greatest left-arm fast bowlers in cricket history. The two are also similar on the count of having a short run-up. Davidson famously took only 15 paces. His autobiography is also named Fifteen Paces.

5.  Breakthrough tour to South Africa that nearly did not happen

On the tour to South Africa in 1957-58, Davidson and Les Favell were almost sent home for breaking the team curfew rules. However, they escaped punishment and Davidson went on to change his cricketing fortunes in that series. In the Tests, he took 25 wickets in the five games. He also scored four hundreds on that tour.

6.  The injury table

Richie Benaud writes in his book Over But Not Out that Davidson had his injury worries on the tour, but he felt many were imaginary. Benaud wrote, “Alan was showing many signs of greatness to come, but the injury problems, most of them real and only a few imaginary, provided plenty of humour in the dressing room. At the end of the game, we made him a presentation of a beautifully- engraved plaque which said: ‘The A.K. Davidson Autograph Massage Table.’” This happened after the second Test of that tour to South Africa.

7.  Jasu Patel steals his thunder

The Kanpur Test of 1959 is remembered for Jasu Patel’s match-winning spell that helped India record its first victory over the Aussies. However, many forget that Davidson also had a big role to play, albeit in a losing cause. He took five for 31 in the first innings and followed it up with a career -best seven for 93 in the second essay. That tour to India was a very successful one as he took 30 wickets in six Tests at an average of 15.76.

8.  The Tied Test

Davidson playeda huge role in the 1960 tied Test against the West Indies. He took a total of 11 wickets in the match — which included an incisive spell of six for 87 in the second essay. Chasing 233 to win the game, Australia had been reduced to 92 for six when Davidson and Benaud constructed a strong stand of 134 to get Australia back in the game. However, his dismissal on 80 raised West Indian hopes as the match ended in a dramatic tie. This was the first time in the history of Test cricket that a player had scored over 100 runs and taken 10 wickets in a match.

9.  Parsimonious

Davidson finished with a career economy rate of 1.97. In Australia, his economy rate was a little over two, but he was more frugal everywhere else. Among bowlers with over 180 Test wickets, Davidson is the most economical.

10.  The Claw

To go with his exciting batting and great bowling, Davidson was also a good fielder. His biography in Australia’s Sporting Hall of Fame notes that his expertise in taking catches in close positions earned him the nickname ‘The Claw.’

11.  Hall of Fame

Given his feats in cricket, he was an obvious in numerous Halls of Fame. He is a part of Australia’s Sporting Hall of Fame and the Cricket Hall of Fame. ICC inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2011.

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Mumbai-based cricket journalist and one of the youngest to cover the three major cricketing events — ICC World Cup, World T20 and under-19 World Cup. He tweets as @nishad_45)