Ian Davis (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Ian Charles Davis is a former Australian cricket
er (batsman) who played in 15 Tests
and 3 ODIs from 1973 to 1977. Ian retired from first-class cricket in 1984, he worked for Dunlop
Slazenger
(part of the Pacific Brands
group) until his retirement in 2010.
clubbed together to sponsor his journey, something Davis remains grateful for to this day. On tour Davis was chosen to open the batting with another future test player Gary Cosier
for the first two matches against Jamaica Under-19s. He scored 11, 8 and 8. In the third tour match against Barbados
he scored one run not out batting at four. In his sixth match of the tour Davis scored a magnificent century against Trindad and Tobago Under-19s
and backed up with 50 not out in the second innings. He finished the tour averaging a very good 43.71 from the seven matches he played. Davis was in good company on the tour, along with Cosier, Trevor Chappell
and Gary Gilmour
went on the represent Australia, while Andrew Sincock had a long first-class career with South Australia
.
Davis made his Sheffield Shield debut for New South Wales
in November 1973 against Westen Australia
at The WACA
. Batting at 6 he scored 27 and 25. In his next match Davis scored a first innings 86 against South Australia. Davis' good form was enough to earn him a call-up to the Australian XI to face New Zealand in December 1973 (just a month after debut and aged just 20). A weak New Zealand side were routed by an innings and 25 runs. Davis, batting at 6, scoring 15 runs before being caught behind by Ken Wadsworth
off the bowling of Dayle Hadlee
.
His maiden first-class century came on 18 January 1974 against Victoria. He scored 109 not out against a Victorian bowling line-up including two other future Australia internationals Jeff Thomson
and Ray Bright
. Davis ended the season top of the NSW batting averages with 52.90 in 12 innings in 7 Sheffield Shield matches, the 109 not out being his only century, with 5 fifties. He was sixth overall in the Shield batting averages, with Greg Chappell
top averaging a remarkable 92.09 in 13 innings.
Davis was selected for the test series in New Zealand playing in all three tests. He scored his first test fifty in Christchurch in March 1974 scoring exactly 50 runs from 107 balls before being caught by New Zealand captain Bev Congdon off the bowling of Richard Hadlee
. It was during this tour that Davis made his ODI debut scoring 11 not out in Dunedin
.
Davis performed well enough to be included in the Australian squad for the 1974/75 Ashes
series at home to England. Although he did not appear in any of the Test matches Davis did face Mike Denness
' tourists playing for NSW scoring 4 and 38 batting at 3, being dismissed by Chris Old
in both innings. NSW lost the match by 187 runs.
The 1974/75 season was a poor one for Davis. He failed to register a first-class century, scoring only one fifty. He played 15 innings in 8 matches averaging only 17.21. His place in the test XI had been taken by the returning Ross Edwards
. Australia regained the Ashes in a series famous for the fierce fast bowling of Lillee
and Thomson
. For the 1975/76 season Davis moved to Queensland. Under the captaincy of Greg Chappell, Davis was chosen to open the batting. Although not as spectacular as his debut season he averaged 34.08 from 12 innnings in 8 matches, with a top score of 61. That season Queensland won the Gillette Cup beating Western Australia in the final, Davis scored 44 from 57 balls, in a thrilling 4 run win. The 1976/77 season saw a return to form for Davis, he returned to NSW, after just one season away, and topped their batting averages (53.83) after scoring two hundreds in the first four matches of the Sheffield Shield.
he scored his maiden test century (105 off 201 balls) in the first innings but was out for a duck in the second bowled by Sarfraz Nawaz
. Davis finished the three match series with an average of 49.00 after scoring fifties in both innings in the second test at the MCG
(56 and 88).
A two test tour to New Zealand followed the Pakistan series. Davis finished the tour with an average of 33.72 and top score of 68 from 12 innings in 6 matches. He scored only 75 runs in the tests with a top score of just 34. The thrilling Centenary Test
match against England at the MCG was played in March 1977, Davis scoring a vital 68 in the Aussies' second innings. Australia won the match by 45 runs, Dennis Lillee claiming 11 wickets in the match.
The Australian winter of 1977 saw Davis selected in the Ashes
party to tour England. Davis played two ODIs on the tour scoring one run in two innnigs, he never played another ODI. In the six test series Davis was picked in the second, third and fourth tests opening with Rick McCosker
. However he scored only 107 (ave. 17.83), his best score of 34 coming in his first test innings at Old Trafford
. Following scores of 12, 33, 9, 0 and 19 Davis was dropped and replaced by Craig Serjeant
at the top of the order. The fourth test at Headingley
would not only be Davis' last test but also the last officially recognised first class match he would play until the 1979/80 season.
for World Series Cricket
in 1977. As one of the brightest talents in Australia his signature was considered vital for the marketing and success of the brand. In the first year of WSC (1977/78) Davis played 3 Supertests scoring a best of 84 against the World XI. He would play 2 more Supertests in the 1978/79 season scoring just 48 runs (ave. 12). Davis found breaking into the WSC Australian XI just as tough as the official side his path being blocked by McCosker and Bruce Laird
. The fact that Davis averaged roughly half as many runs in Supertests as he did in official tests highlights the high level of competition in WSC. It was during the second Supertest that Australian batsman David Hookes
suffered a broken jaw from an Andy Roberts bouncer. Packer was said to encourage his bowlers to be aggressive. Traditional cricket followers became shocked by the posteuring and bad-language broadcast via pitch microphones. The highly charged atmosphere and Packer's preference for fast bowling led to many of the WSC stars, including Davis, to wear protective helmets
. A piece of cricket equipment Davis would later help develop after retirement.
Davis had more success in the International Cup (the 40 over competition), which is surprising given he was only selected for three official One-Day Internationals. He played in 18 International Cup matches over the two seasons scoring 428 runs (ave. 25.18) with two fifties (top score 69). Davis was selected for the marquee WSC Tour of the West Indies, however the bank he was employed with refused to grant him leave. So Davis missed out on the tour which signalled the end of World Series Cricket after Packer reached a settlement with the cricketing authorities in May 1979.
. He failed to pass 50 in any of his other innings. The 1980/81 season was another relatively poor one for Davis. He played 7 matches scoring just 251 runs, with a top score of 91 not out. He finished the season with an average of 27.88. However NSW, under the captaincy of Rick McCosker, finished runners-up in the table only 3 points behind Western Australia. NSW would finish even closer runners-up in 1981/82 just two points behind David Hookes' South Australia
. Davis had his best season since 1976/77 averaging 38 with two hundreds, he had moved back to open the batting. His best innings (133) coming against Tasmania at Hobart
. Another century followed in the next match, an 8 wicket win against Queensland (113).
1982/83 proved to be Davis' final first-class season. NSW were again runners-up to Western Australia, this time by four points. But Davis played just twice scoring 87 runs. Davis retired aged just 30. His last first-class match being played on 10 February 1983 against the touring Sri Lankans. He scored 14 runs.
Davis' autobiography was published in 2004. Entitled More Than Cricket the book reveals how Davis, in his role as top executive with Dunlop Slazenger, pioneered protective cricket helmets and the production of modern cricket bat technology. In January 2009 Davis revealed that Slazenger
were weeks away from releasing a new bat designed by Danny Waugh, a younger brother of former Test stars Steve
and Mark
, called the Clubba, in competition with Gray-Nicolls
, maker of the only 'double-sided' bat in top level cricket, controversially used by Victoria and Australia opener David Warner
. Davis was quoted, "The Waugh bat has a slightly longer handle for batsmen who go the tonk, no shoulders and a power zone. While we're marketing for the 50-over form of the game, it can also be used for Twenty20." Although the bat was not released with Slazenger Australia's new 2009 range, some of the design features have been included specifically the "power zone" and a flatter back to the bat.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er (batsman) who played in 15 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and 3 ODIs from 1973 to 1977. Ian retired from first-class cricket in 1984, he worked for Dunlop
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...
Slazenger
Slazenger
Slazenger is a British sports equipment brand name sold throughout the world, involving a variety of sporting categories namely cricket, tennis and hockey...
(part of the Pacific Brands
Pacific Brands
Pacific Brands is a major Australian company marketing Berlei, Bonds, Clarks , Dunlop, Everlast, Grosby, Holeproof, Hush Puppies, King Gee, Malvern Star, Sheridan, Slazenger, Sleepmaker and Tontine . It once held the Asian Pacific licence for British Knights footwear. It was formed as a division of...
group) until his retirement in 2010.
Bright Start
Ian Davis' talent was spotted early and he was selected to tour the West Indies in 1969/70 with the Australian Schoolboys XI. To ensure he could make the trip his local community in ShoalhavenShoalhaven
The City of Shoalhaven is a Local Government Area in south-eastern New South Wales , Australia, two hours south of Sydney. It is more or less conterminous with an area referred to as The Shoalhaven. It is on the Pacific Ocean and the Princes Highway and is the terminus of the South Coast line...
clubbed together to sponsor his journey, something Davis remains grateful for to this day. On tour Davis was chosen to open the batting with another future test player Gary Cosier
Gary Cosier
Gary John Cosier is a former Australian test cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 9 ODIs from 1975 to 1979. Cosier's star shone very briefly following a sensational test debut, when he became only the ninth Australian to post a century in his first Test.-Cricket career:The stocky, redheaded Cosier...
for the first two matches against Jamaica Under-19s. He scored 11, 8 and 8. In the third tour match against Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
he scored one run not out batting at four. In his sixth match of the tour Davis scored a magnificent century against Trindad and Tobago Under-19s
Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
and backed up with 50 not out in the second innings. He finished the tour averaging a very good 43.71 from the seven matches he played. Davis was in good company on the tour, along with Cosier, Trevor Chappell
Trevor Chappell
Trevor Martin Chappell is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket...
and Gary Gilmour
Gary Gilmour
Gary John Gilmour is a former Australian cricketer who played in 15 Tests and 5 One Day Internationals from 1973 to 1977....
went on the represent Australia, while Andrew Sincock had a long first-class career with South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
.
Davis made his Sheffield Shield debut for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
in November 1973 against Westen Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
at The WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
. Batting at 6 he scored 27 and 25. In his next match Davis scored a first innings 86 against South Australia. Davis' good form was enough to earn him a call-up to the Australian XI to face New Zealand in December 1973 (just a month after debut and aged just 20). A weak New Zealand side were routed by an innings and 25 runs. Davis, batting at 6, scoring 15 runs before being caught behind by Ken Wadsworth
Ken Wadsworth
Kenneth John Wadsworth was a New Zealand cricketer who played 33 Tests and 13 One Day Internationals for New Zealand as a wicket-keeper. Wadsworth scored over 1,000 runs and dismissed nearly 100 batsmen as New Zealand's regular wicket-keeper between 1969–70 and 1975–76...
off the bowling of Dayle Hadlee
Dayle Hadlee
Dayle Robert Hadlee is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in 26 Tests and 11 ODIs from 1969 to 1978....
.
His maiden first-class century came on 18 January 1974 against Victoria. He scored 109 not out against a Victorian bowling line-up including two other future Australia internationals Jeff Thomson
Jeff Thomson
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
and Ray Bright
Ray Bright
Raymond James Bright is a former Australian Test and One Day International cricketer.A left-arm orthodox spin bowler and useful lower order right-handed batsman, Bright made his first-class debut for Victoria at eighteen years of age, against New South Wales in Sydney in the 1972–1973 domestic...
. Davis ended the season top of the NSW batting averages with 52.90 in 12 innings in 7 Sheffield Shield matches, the 109 not out being his only century, with 5 fifties. He was sixth overall in the Shield batting averages, with Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
top averaging a remarkable 92.09 in 13 innings.
Davis was selected for the test series in New Zealand playing in all three tests. He scored his first test fifty in Christchurch in March 1974 scoring exactly 50 runs from 107 balls before being caught by New Zealand captain Bev Congdon off the bowling of Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
. It was during this tour that Davis made his ODI debut scoring 11 not out in Dunedin
Carisbrook
Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
.
Davis performed well enough to be included in the Australian squad for the 1974/75 Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series at home to England. Although he did not appear in any of the Test matches Davis did face Mike Denness
Mike Denness
Mike Denness is a former Scottish cricketer who played for England, Scotland, Essex and Kent. Scotland did not have a representative international team at the time of Denness' career, so he could only play for England at Test and ODI level. Denness became the first Scotsman to captain England...
' tourists playing for NSW scoring 4 and 38 batting at 3, being dismissed by Chris Old
Chris Old
Chris Old is an English former cricketer, who played in forty six Tests and thirty two ODIs from 1972 to 1981....
in both innings. NSW lost the match by 187 runs.
The 1974/75 season was a poor one for Davis. He failed to register a first-class century, scoring only one fifty. He played 15 innings in 8 matches averaging only 17.21. His place in the test XI had been taken by the returning Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards is a former Western Australian and Australian cricketer.Edwards played in 20 Tests for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Cricket World Cup series...
. Australia regained the Ashes in a series famous for the fierce fast bowling of Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
and Thomson
Jeff Thomson
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
. For the 1975/76 season Davis moved to Queensland. Under the captaincy of Greg Chappell, Davis was chosen to open the batting. Although not as spectacular as his debut season he averaged 34.08 from 12 innnings in 8 matches, with a top score of 61. That season Queensland won the Gillette Cup beating Western Australia in the final, Davis scored 44 from 57 balls, in a thrilling 4 run win. The 1976/77 season saw a return to form for Davis, he returned to NSW, after just one season away, and topped their batting averages (53.83) after scoring two hundreds in the first four matches of the Sheffield Shield.
Recalled
Subsequently Davis was recalled by Australia for the 1976/77 test series at home to Pakistan. Selected to open the batting in the first test at BrisbaneBrisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
he scored his maiden test century (105 off 201 balls) in the first innings but was out for a duck in the second bowled by Sarfraz Nawaz
Sarfraz Nawaz
Sarfraz Nawaz Malik is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician who discovered reverse swing and was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984 he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and was Imran Khan's regular new ball...
. Davis finished the three match series with an average of 49.00 after scoring fifties in both innings in the second test at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
(56 and 88).
A two test tour to New Zealand followed the Pakistan series. Davis finished the tour with an average of 33.72 and top score of 68 from 12 innings in 6 matches. He scored only 75 runs in the tests with a top score of just 34. The thrilling Centenary Test
Centenary Test
Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
match against England at the MCG was played in March 1977, Davis scoring a vital 68 in the Aussies' second innings. Australia won the match by 45 runs, Dennis Lillee claiming 11 wickets in the match.
The Australian winter of 1977 saw Davis selected in the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
party to tour England. Davis played two ODIs on the tour scoring one run in two innnigs, he never played another ODI. In the six test series Davis was picked in the second, third and fourth tests opening with Rick McCosker
Rick McCosker
Richard Bede McCosker is a former New South Wales and Australian cricketer.McCosker played in 25 Tests and 14 One Day Internationals in a career spanning 1975 to 1982 playing as a right hand batsman....
. However he scored only 107 (ave. 17.83), his best score of 34 coming in his first test innings at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
. Following scores of 12, 33, 9, 0 and 19 Davis was dropped and replaced by Craig Serjeant
Craig Serjeant
Craig Stanton Serjeant is a former Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests and 3 ODIs from 1977 to 1978....
at the top of the order. The fourth test at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
would not only be Davis' last test but also the last officially recognised first class match he would play until the 1979/80 season.
World Series Cricket
Davis was signed by Kerry PackerKerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
for World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
in 1977. As one of the brightest talents in Australia his signature was considered vital for the marketing and success of the brand. In the first year of WSC (1977/78) Davis played 3 Supertests scoring a best of 84 against the World XI. He would play 2 more Supertests in the 1978/79 season scoring just 48 runs (ave. 12). Davis found breaking into the WSC Australian XI just as tough as the official side his path being blocked by McCosker and Bruce Laird
Bruce Laird
Bruce Malcolm Laird is a former Western Australian and Australian cricketer. He was an opening batsmen who played in 21 Tests and 23 ODIs. He also starred in World Series Cricket.-Early career:...
. The fact that Davis averaged roughly half as many runs in Supertests as he did in official tests highlights the high level of competition in WSC. It was during the second Supertest that Australian batsman David Hookes
David Hookes
David William Hookes was an Australian cricketer, broadcaster and coach of the Victorian cricket team. An aggressive left-handed batsman, Hookes usually batted in the middle order...
suffered a broken jaw from an Andy Roberts bouncer. Packer was said to encourage his bowlers to be aggressive. Traditional cricket followers became shocked by the posteuring and bad-language broadcast via pitch microphones. The highly charged atmosphere and Packer's preference for fast bowling led to many of the WSC stars, including Davis, to wear protective helmets
Helmet (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batsmen often wear a helmet to protect themselves from injury by the cricket ball, which is very hard and can be bowled to them at speeds over ....
. A piece of cricket equipment Davis would later help develop after retirement.
Davis had more success in the International Cup (the 40 over competition), which is surprising given he was only selected for three official One-Day Internationals. He played in 18 International Cup matches over the two seasons scoring 428 runs (ave. 25.18) with two fifties (top score 69). Davis was selected for the marquee WSC Tour of the West Indies, however the bank he was employed with refused to grant him leave. So Davis missed out on the tour which signalled the end of World Series Cricket after Packer reached a settlement with the cricketing authorities in May 1979.
After World Series Cricket
The 1979/80 season saw the Packer players return to their State sides. Although Davis would play only three Sheffield Shield matches that season batting back down the order at 4. The highlight of his being a score of 112 against the new fully participating Tasmania side at LauncestonNTCA Ground
The Northern Tasmania Cricket Association Ground, better known as the NTCA Ground, is a multi-use sports venue in Launceston, Australia. It is currently used mostly for club cricket matches and has a capacity of under 10,000....
. He failed to pass 50 in any of his other innings. The 1980/81 season was another relatively poor one for Davis. He played 7 matches scoring just 251 runs, with a top score of 91 not out. He finished the season with an average of 27.88. However NSW, under the captaincy of Rick McCosker, finished runners-up in the table only 3 points behind Western Australia. NSW would finish even closer runners-up in 1981/82 just two points behind David Hookes' South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
. Davis had his best season since 1976/77 averaging 38 with two hundreds, he had moved back to open the batting. His best innings (133) coming against Tasmania at Hobart
TCA Ground
The TCA Ground, or Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground, is one of two First Class standard cricket grounds in Hobart, Tasmania in Australia...
. Another century followed in the next match, an 8 wicket win against Queensland (113).
1982/83 proved to be Davis' final first-class season. NSW were again runners-up to Western Australia, this time by four points. But Davis played just twice scoring 87 runs. Davis retired aged just 30. His last first-class match being played on 10 February 1983 against the touring Sri Lankans. He scored 14 runs.
Davis' autobiography was published in 2004. Entitled More Than Cricket the book reveals how Davis, in his role as top executive with Dunlop Slazenger, pioneered protective cricket helmets and the production of modern cricket bat technology. In January 2009 Davis revealed that Slazenger
Slazenger
Slazenger is a British sports equipment brand name sold throughout the world, involving a variety of sporting categories namely cricket, tennis and hockey...
were weeks away from releasing a new bat designed by Danny Waugh, a younger brother of former Test stars Steve
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
and Mark
Mark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
, called the Clubba, in competition with Gray-Nicolls
Gray-Nicolls
Gray-Nicolls is a sports equipment and apparel company specialising in cricket. The origin of Gray Nicolls is from the English company Grays. -History:...
, maker of the only 'double-sided' bat in top level cricket, controversially used by Victoria and Australia opener David Warner
David Warner (cricketer)
David Andrew Warner is an Australian cricketer. A quick-scoring left-handed opening batsman, Warner is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket...
. Davis was quoted, "The Waugh bat has a slightly longer handle for batsmen who go the tonk, no shoulders and a power zone. While we're marketing for the 50-over form of the game, it can also be used for Twenty20." Although the bat was not released with Slazenger Australia's new 2009 range, some of the design features have been included specifically the "power zone" and a flatter back to the bat.