Alan Davidson (cricketer) - Tied Test

Tied Test

Davidson was at his all round peak during the 1960–61 series against West Indies. After taking eight wickets in the two opening matches of the season against Queensland, Davidson gave an indication of what was in store in the Tests when New South Wales played Frank Worrell's tourists. He struck 88 as the hosts amassed 6/429 declared and then took three top-order wickets, removing Cammie Smith, Rohan Kanhai and Gary Sobers, holder of the Test world record of 365. He ended with 4/26 as the West Indies fell for 111 and lost by an innings. He then completed his Test preparation with 122 not out against Victoria.

In the First Test against the West Indies cricket team in Brisbane, Davidson showed his all round skills as well as stamina in becoming the first player to take ten wickets and accumulate more than a hundred runs in a match. On the eve of the match, Davidson broke the little finger on his bowling hand during catching practice and was unable to move it. However, he decided to play after Bradman gave a motivational speech to the team ahead of the match.

On the first two days, he bowled thirty (eight ball) overs to take 5/135 in the first innings as the West Indies reached 453. He did much of the heavy lifting in removing four of the West Indies' batsmen, Conrad Hunte, Smith, Kanhai and Worrell. Australia took a small lead of 52 after reaching 505, with Davidson contributing 44. In the second innings, Davidson was left with a heavier workload after his new ball partner Meckiff broke down after four overs. He took 6/87 from 24.6 overs as the West Indies were restricted to 284. he was again responsible for cutting down the leading batsmen, removing Smith, Kanhai, Sobers and Worrell. This left Australia 233 runs to win with 312 minutes available on the last day. Former Australian Test batsman and journalist Jack Fingleton commented that "One sensed that the West Indies realised they were facing defeat". However, the tourists had other ideas.

Although time was plentiful, the pitch had begun to deteriorate and Australia look defeated after they had fallen to 5/57, prompting Davidson to join local batsman Ken Mackay at the crease. They took the score to 92 when Mackay fell and Australia's chances of winning looked remote as Davidson and Benaud reached tea at 6/109 with 124 runs still required with only the tailenders were to follow. Despite this, Benaud told chairman of selectors Don Bradman that he would still be going for an improbable victory in accordance with his policy of aggressive strategy. With an attacking partnership, the pair took Australia to within sight of the target. The pair added 50 runs in 55 minutes. Davidson hooked leading paceman Wes Hall repeatedly and Benaud attacked the spinners when Worrell took Hall off. Both men were noted for their hitting ability and viewed attack as their most effective chance of survival. Davidson hit four fours from the leg spin of Sonny Ramadhin, and the deficit dwindled to 60 with one hour remaining and 27 with 30 minutes to go. The pair took 17 runs from the next two overs, and regular boundaries and quickly run singles took Australia into what looked like a victorious position. They took the score to 226 with a seventh wicket partnership of 134. Only seven runs were required with four wickets in hand as time was running short. Benaud hit a ball into the covers and the pair attempted a quick single, but a direct hit from Joe Solomon saw Davidson run out for his highest Test score of 80. Davidson reflected "I was as dirty as anyone ever has been". Australia needed six runs from the final over with three wickets in hand but Benaud was caught and the last two players fell to run outs while attempting the winning run. The match was tie in Test cricket, and Davidson had achieved his unprecedented feat despite carrying a broken finger into the match. Bradman joked that he should break his finger before every match.

After this marathon effort, Davidson scored 81 as New South Wales defeated the tourists by an innings for the second time in the space of the month. He was only asked to bowl five overs after his efforts in Brisbane.

Davidson returned to a full workload as he helped Australia take a 1–0 series lead in the Second Test in Melbourne. He scored 35 in the first innings of 348, before taking 6/53 in the West Indies' reply of 181. He removed Joe Solomon, before removing the established batsmen Seymour Nurse and Kanhai to trigger a collapse. This allowed Benaud to enforce the follow on. Davidson took a further 2/51 in the second innings to set up a seven wicket victory. The teams moved to Sydney for the next Test, where Davidson's unhappy experiences on his home ground continued. The West Indies batted first and made 339; Davidson took 5/80, including Smith, Kanhai and Sobers. Davidson made 16 as Australia replied with 202 and were in trouble when Meckiff was forced off the field early in the tourists' second innings with injury. Davidson lifted and removed Hunte, Kanhai and Sobers for single figures with the new ball. However, he too was forced off with a hamstring tear. With Australia two men down, the West Indies recovered to 326 and set the hosts 464 for victory, which would have required a world record fourth innings score. Davidson managed only one as Australia lost by 222 runs. He had not had a Test win in Sydney in three attempts, the only Australian ground where he had not played in a victory. After missing the Fourth Test because of a month on the sidelines to recuperate from the hamstring tear, he returned for the Fifth Test with the series level at 1–1. He took match figures of 6/173, including five wickets with late swing in the second innings to help Australia secure the victory. Davidson scored 28 and 12 as Benaud's men stumbled in the run-chase before scraping home by two wickets.

In three and a half Tests, he accumulated 212 runs at 30.28 and totalled 33 wickets against the Caribbean visitors at a cost of 18.55, when the next best average of any bowler was 33. Davidson was regarded as the main factor in Australia's 2–1 series win. He ended the first-class season with 551 runs at 55.10 and 45 wickets at 20.62.

The 1961 tour of England was Davidson's overseas farewell, and he had not been prolific on his two previous visits, never managing to take more than four wickets in an innings and toalling only 76 in 40 first-class matches.

He broke through for his first five-wicket haul on English soil in his fifth match against Glamorgan, taking 5/63 in the first innings and scoring an unbeaten 68. He added 90 in the next match against Gloucestershire before facing the MCC at Lord's in the traditional dress rehearsal for the Tests. He took 6/46 and 3/58 as Australia took victory. His wickets included leading Test batsmen Cowdrey and Ken Barrington. Davidson headed into the Tests with 257 runs at 42.83 and 26 wickets at 22.35 from eight matches.

Despite this form, his Test campaign started poorly with an ineffective 1/130 in the drawn First Test at Edgbaston. He then broke down with a back injury in a match against Kent and looked unlikely to play. With Benaud already sidelined with a shoulder injury, Australia looked severely weakened without their two main bowlers. Despite again complaining about frailties of his body, Davidson vowed to play and produce a special performance for friend and stand-in captain Neil Harvey in the Second Test at Lord's.

Davidson took copious amounts of capsulin, and he took his position in what was known as the "Battle of the Ridge" due to the presence of a ridge on the surface that yielded erratic bounce. He exploited this in the first innings, beating Raman Subba Row three times in the first over and striking Geoff Pullar in the shoulder. He then bowled Pullar and struck Ted Dexter twice in the chest. Dexter then hit a ball to short leg but was dropped. Davidson then removed Peter May and Barrington before ending with 5/42 as Australia dismissed the hosts for 206 to seize the initiative. Davidson credited the performance to the capsulin, which flowed into his lower body and in his own words, put his "backside on fire".

Australia took a first innings lead of 134 and Davidson removed Subba Row and Barrington with the new ball in the second innings to end with 2/50 and help set up a five wicket victory. Davidson was at the crease when the winning runs were scored, albeit at the non-striker's end. It was the first time Davidson had tasted Test victory on English soil in three tours.

He then took 5/63 in the first innings of the Third Test at Headingley, removing Subba Row, May, Barrington and Ted Dexter at the top of the order, but Australia struggled with the bat and England lost only two wickets in reaching 62 in the second innings to level the series. Davidson took one of those wickets, removing Subba Row.

Davidson played a large role in the Fourth Test Old Trafford. Victory would give Australia an unassailable 2–1 series lead and retention of the Ashes. A loss would mean that Australia would need to win the Fifth and final Test to prevent England from reclaiming them.

Australia started poorly, and Davidson made a duck as the tourists were dismissed for 190. Davidson then took 3/67, removing Pullar, May and Subba Row as England took a sizeable 177-run lead.

This appeared to be a match-winning lead after Australia had lost three wickets in quick succession to David Allen, leaving them at 9/334 with only a 157 run lead. Last man Graham McKenzie came to the crease to join Davidson, who had been in poor form with the bat, having failed to pass 22 in the past five matches in six weeks. Davidson sais that "I was shaking like I had Parkinson's".

May brought on the part-time spin of Brian Close and 15 runs came in two overs, helping Davidson to feel more at ease. At the time, Allen had bowled 25 maidens in 37 overs. Davidson responded to the situation by hitting Allen out of the attack. In Allen's 10th over for the day, Davidson took 20 runs. He lofted an off drive over the boundary for six, and drove through the covers for four from both the front and back foot. Davidson then hit the bowler out of the stadium onto the adjacent railway lines. Fred Trueman came on and struck Davidson on the foot with a yorker. Davidson responded with a three and a cut for four that brought up Australia's 400. He ended with a hard-hitting 77 not out, after a final wicket partnership of 98 in 102 minutes. This extended Australia's lead to 256 on the last day and gave them hope of stopping England from winning the match. England looked to be heading towards victory with seven wickets in hand and less than 100 runs required, but a Benaud-inspired collapse saw Australia home by 54 runs. Davidson knocked Brian Statham's off stump out of the ground to end the match and ended with 2/50. It was Australia's first victory at Old Trafford since 1902 and sealed the series.

He ended his final Test series on foreign soil with combined figures of 4/150 in the Fifth Test at The Oval, which was drawn. Davidson finished the series with 23 wickets at 24.87 and 151 runs at 30.20. He was again Australia's leading bowler on tour.

Davidson bade farewell to the English first-class scene with a match-winning display with both bat and ball against AER Gilligan's XI. He took 3/45 and scored 65 and 60, helping Australia to scrape home by three wickets.

For his efforts, Davidson was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1962. He was also awarded an OBE.

Davidson was in strong all round form in the 1961–62 Australian season, which was a purely domestic one. Against Victoria in Sydney, he scored 106 in a hard hitting innings with the tail. He made 58 of the 59 runs added in a last wicket partnership with Doug Ford, the other being a leg bye. The partnership lasted only 44 balls and Davidson managed to farm the strike and face 41 of these. The effort helped to set up a ten-wicket win. The following week against Western Australia in Perth, he made 108 after New South Wales had slumped to 6/38 to help the visitors recover to 218. New South Wales struggled in their second innings and Western Australia needed only 175 for victory. However, Davidson took his career best innings bowling figures of 7/31 to bowl out the hosts for 106 and seize a victory. In both matches against Queensland, Davidson took four quick wickets in the second innings to secure narrow victories after bold declarations. New South Wales won the Shield in that season with 64 of a maximum possible 80 points, playing aggressive cricket under Benaud. It was their ninth title in a row. Davidson was a key factor in the dominance, scoring 521 runs at 40.07 and taking 42 wickets at 13.62.