Winston Davis
Encyclopedia
Winston Walter Davis is a former West Indian
cricket
er.
Davis played his first representative match for West Indies Young Cricketers against their English counterparts at Port-of-Spain
in August 1976, making an immediate impact by taking 4-35 in his first innings, including the wickets of future Test cricket
ers David Gower
, Mike Gatting
and Paul Downton
. In 1978 he went to England for the return matches, but it was not until 1979/80 that he made his first-class
debut, for Windward Islands
against Leeward Islands
at St John's
.
Davis gradually established himself as a bowler, taking 5-42 against Trinidad and Tobago
in the 1981/82 Shell Shield
, and he was signed by Glamorgan
for the 1982 English season to replace the injured Ezra Moseley
. Despite sending down rather too many no ball
s at times, Davis finished the season with 42 first-class wickets and was retained for the following season. In the meantime he had made his Test and One Day International debuts for in the 1982/83 series against India
, his first wicket in Test cricket being that of Mohinder Amarnath
.
In 1983 Davis was selected for West Indies' World Cup
squad, and when brought into the side for the second group match against Australia at Leeds
, immediately hit the headlines by taking 7-51, at the time a world record return in ODIs. He was retained for the other four group matches, but took only one more wicket in total and was not selected for the semi-final or final - perhaps unsurprising when one considers that players of the calibre of Marshall
, Garner
, Holding
and Roberts were all in West Indies' squad for the tournament.
Returning to Glamorgan, Davis had another successful season, taking 52 wickets at 26.71
from 15 first-class matches, including three five-wicket innings hauls. He played in all six Tests in India that winter, taking 14 wickets, but when Australia visited the West Indies in the spring of 1984, Davis was selected for only one Test and one ODI, and despite his experience of English conditions he was at first left out of the party to play England that summer, although when Milton Small
was ruled out by a knee injury part-way through the series Davis was drafted into the squad. He played in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, and though he was not particularly effectual with the ball beyond managing to fracture Paul Terry
's ulna
he did score 77, his highest first-class innings, coming in as nightwatchman
on the first day.
1984 was a successful season for Davis: he took 62 first-class wickets at 27.82 apiece and was unlucky not to be retained by Glamorgan for the following season; they decided instead to employ a certain Javed Miandad
. In 1984/85 Davis performed well on home soil after being selected for the last two Tests of the four-game series against New Zealand, taking 10 wickets at 18.80 including a career-best 4-19 at Kingston
, and took part in no less than 15 ODIs in Australia. In 1985/86 Davis played Sheffield Shield
cricket in Australia
for Tasmania
with moderate success.
By now Davis had fallen away from the Test side as West Indies' fast-bowling production line continued to churn out high-quality pacemen, and in 1987 he returned to English county cricket
with Northamptonshire
. For three years he found considerable success, taking a total of 195 wickets at 25.46; his career-best first-class bowling figures of 7-52 came in 1988 in the first innings of the County Championship
game against Sussex
- noteworthy also for the fact that Davis and David Capel
(3-59) bowled unchanged throughout the 32.5 overs of that innings. During this period he was also recalled to international duties for one last time in India
in 1987/88, taking 13 wickets at exactly 30 in four Tests but only three in his three ODIs, and captained the Windward Islands team in the same season.
Davis endured a final, less than happy, season with Northamptonshire in 1990: he averaged above 60 with the ball in both first-class and one-day cricket, and went for more than five an over in the latter form of the game. His final bowling spell for his county, in the Championship game against Essex
, was a disastrous 5-0-37-0
as Graham Gooch
and John Stephenson ran riot. With that, Davis bowed out of county cricket for good, and in 1990/91 he went to play for Wellington
in New Zealand
. It proved a shrewd choice as Davis took 20 first-class wickets at 19.50 in just five matches. After that, there were a couple of exhibition matches against his old county of Glamorgan in 1991, and 54 not out for a World XI against the West Indians at Scarborough, before he returned to the Caribbean
for three final domestic games. He did little in any of them, and retired from cricket.
In 1998 Davis, a committed Christian
, was left a tetraplegic
after suffering spinal injuries as a result of a fall in St Vincent suffered whilst helping clear land for a new church. He was flown to England for treatment unavailable on the island, and now lives in Worcestershire
, England
. He has appeared in a film, Because of You, made by Worcestershire County council
's Social Services department; he said of this film, "People with a disability can often be seen as just takers and so for me, starring in this film gave me the opportunity to give something back to the community". Several Winston Davis Benefit Matches have been held with the object of raising money to help him live a more comfortable life, and have featured a number of high-profile cricketers; in 2005 a Lashings Cricket Club side beat a Winston Davis XI by 87 runs in a match graced by such names as Chris Cairns, V. V. S. Laxman
and Alvin Kallicharran
.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
cricket
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.
Davis played his first representative match for West Indies Young Cricketers against their English counterparts at Port-of-Spain
Queen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies and has hosted more Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean. It also hosted a number of matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It is privately owned by the...
in August 1976, making an immediate impact by taking 4-35 in his first innings, including the wickets of future Test cricket
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...
ers David Gower
David Gower
David Ivon Gower OBE is a former English cricketer who became a commentator for Sky Sports. Although he eventually rose to the captaincy of the England cricket team during the 1980s, he is best known for being one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of the modern era. Gower played 117 Test...
, Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
and Paul Downton
Paul Downton
Paul Downton is a former English cricketer, who played in thirty Tests and twenty eight ODIs from 1977 to 1989. He was a wicket-keeper and a useful batsman in the lower middle-order...
. In 1978 he went to England for the return matches, but it was not until 1979/80 that he made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut, for Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
against Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
at St John's
Antigua Recreation Ground
Antigua Recreation Ground is the national stadium of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located in St. John's, on the island of Antigua. The ground has been used by the West Indies cricket team and Antigua and Barbuda national football team...
.
Davis gradually established himself as a bowler, taking 5-42 against Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
in the 1981/82 Shell Shield
Carib Beer Cup
The Regional Four Day Competition, formerly known as Shell Shield and Carib Beer Cup, is the first class cricket competition in the West Indies, it is administered by the West Indies Cricket Board...
, and he was signed by Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
for the 1982 English season to replace the injured Ezra Moseley
Ezra Moseley
Ezra Alphonsa Moseley is a former West Indian cricketer who played in two Tests and nine ODIs from 1990 to 1991. Of the cricketers who participated in the Rebel Tours of South Africa in the early 1980s, he is the only one who ever played for the West Indies again....
. Despite sending down rather too many no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
s at times, Davis finished the season with 42 first-class wickets and was retained for the following season. In the meantime he had made his Test and One Day International debuts for in the 1982/83 series against India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, his first wicket in Test cricket being that of Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
.
In 1983 Davis was selected for West Indies' World Cup
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
squad, and when brought into the side for the second group match against Australia at Leeds
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 ....
, immediately hit the headlines by taking 7-51, at the time a world record return in ODIs. He was retained for the other four group matches, but took only one more wicket in total and was not selected for the semi-final or final - perhaps unsurprising when one considers that players of the calibre of Marshall
Malcolm Marshall
By 1984 Marshall was seen as one of the finest bowlers in the world, and he demoralised England that summer, especially at Headingley, where he ran through the order in the second innings to finish with 7-53, despite having broken his thumb whilst fielding in the first innings...
, Garner
Joel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
, Holding
Michael Holding
Michael Anthony Holding is a former West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, he was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease...
and Roberts were all in West Indies' squad for the tournament.
Returning to Glamorgan, Davis had another successful season, taking 52 wickets at 26.71
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
from 15 first-class matches, including three five-wicket innings hauls. He played in all six Tests in India that winter, taking 14 wickets, but when Australia visited the West Indies in the spring of 1984, Davis was selected for only one Test and one ODI, and despite his experience of English conditions he was at first left out of the party to play England that summer, although when Milton Small
Milton Small
Milton Aster Small is a former West Indian cricketer who played in two Tests and two ODIs in 1984....
was ruled out by a knee injury part-way through the series Davis was drafted into the squad. He played in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, and though he was not particularly effectual with the ball beyond managing to fracture Paul Terry
Paul Terry (cricketer)
Vivian Paul Terry is an English former cricketer, who played in two Tests for England in 1984.-Life and career:In the latter of his two Test matches his arm was broken by a rising delivery from Winston Davis...
's ulna
Ulna
The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form and runs parallel to the radius, which is shorter and smaller. In anatomical position The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form...
he did score 77, his highest first-class innings, coming in as nightwatchman
Nightwatchman (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play...
on the first day.
1984 was a successful season for Davis: he took 62 first-class wickets at 27.82 apiece and was unlucky not to be retained by Glamorgan for the following season; they decided instead to employ a certain Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
. In 1984/85 Davis performed well on home soil after being selected for the last two Tests of the four-game series against New Zealand, taking 10 wickets at 18.80 including a career-best 4-19 at Kingston
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
, and took part in no less than 15 ODIs in Australia. In 1985/86 Davis played Sheffield Shield
Pura Cup
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
cricket in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
with moderate success.
By now Davis had fallen away from the Test side as West Indies' fast-bowling production line continued to churn out high-quality pacemen, and in 1987 he returned to English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
with Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
. For three years he found considerable success, taking a total of 195 wickets at 25.46; his career-best first-class bowling figures of 7-52 came in 1988 in the first innings of the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
game against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
- noteworthy also for the fact that Davis and David Capel
David Capel
David Capel is a former English cricketer, who played for Northamptonshire and England...
(3-59) bowled unchanged throughout the 32.5 overs of that innings. During this period he was also recalled to international duties for one last time in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1987/88, taking 13 wickets at exactly 30 in four Tests but only three in his three ODIs, and captained the Windward Islands team in the same season.
Davis endured a final, less than happy, season with Northamptonshire in 1990: he averaged above 60 with the ball in both first-class and one-day cricket, and went for more than five an over in the latter form of the game. His final bowling spell for his county, in the Championship game against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
, was a disastrous 5-0-37-0
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
as Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
and John Stephenson ran riot. With that, Davis bowed out of county cricket for good, and in 1990/91 he went to play for Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It proved a shrewd choice as Davis took 20 first-class wickets at 19.50 in just five matches. After that, there were a couple of exhibition matches against his old county of Glamorgan in 1991, and 54 not out for a World XI against the West Indians at Scarborough, before he returned to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
for three final domestic games. He did little in any of them, and retired from cricket.
In 1998 Davis, a committed Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, was left a tetraplegic
Quadriplegia
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
after suffering spinal injuries as a result of a fall in St Vincent suffered whilst helping clear land for a new church. He was flown to England for treatment unavailable on the island, and now lives in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He has appeared in a film, Because of You, made by Worcestershire County council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
's Social Services department; he said of this film, "People with a disability can often be seen as just takers and so for me, starring in this film gave me the opportunity to give something back to the community". Several Winston Davis Benefit Matches have been held with the object of raising money to help him live a more comfortable life, and have featured a number of high-profile cricketers; in 2005 a Lashings Cricket Club side beat a Winston Davis XI by 87 runs in a match graced by such names as Chris Cairns, V. V. S. Laxman
V. V. S. Laxman
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman , sometimes shortened to Venkatsai Laxman but generally known as V.V.S. Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in English county cricket. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli...
and Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Isaac Kallicharran is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. His elegant, watchful batting style produced some substantial innings for a West Indian team very much in its formative years in the seventies...
.