Alan Davidson made the 1961 Ashes his own

HUW TURBERVILL pays tribute to the former Australia left-arm seamer who played 44 Tests, after his passing aged 92

Alan Davidson’s passing at the age of 92 is poignant, 60 years after he played such a pivotal role in Australia winning the Ashes in England.

After a poor match at Edgbaston, the left-arm quick took seven wickets in the Lord’s Test, six at Headingley, five at Old Trafford, and four at The Oval as his side won 2-1, retaining the Ashes they had won in 1958-59.

The Test in Manchester was a thriller. England lost despite a first-innings lead of 177. Chasing 256 in three hours to win, Ted Dexter made 76, but fabulous captaincy and bowling by Richie Benaud turned things round – a great escape (two years before the film). Bowling around the wicket into the rough, he took 6 for 70, as Australia won by 54 runs with 20 minutes to spare. Davidson took 3 for 70 and 2 for 50 and finished the series with 23 scalps at 24 apiece.

Peter May missed the first two Tests and quit as England captain by the end of the rubber, aged just 31.

Davidson recalled the series to me for a book project. “England had a magnificent side, with May, Colin Cowdrey, Dexter, Fred Trueman and Brian Statham, but we were also well-balanced, and we won,” he said.

“It was a wonderful series. Richie said we were going to play positive cricket, and we did just that. He got away with it at Old Trafford, but his bowling was one of a number of tremendous performances by us; it was Bill Lawry’s first tour, but he scored hundreds at Lord’s and Old Trafford.

^{Davidson pictured with Neil Harvey, who was also involved in the tied Test against West Indies, at the SCG}

“Actually that was Richie’s only Test five-wicket haul in his three Ashes series in England. He exploited the same footmarks that Shane Warne did there in 1993. Dexter played one of the most explosive innings I have seen in my life; he hit Ken ‘Slasher’ Mackay straight into the sightscreen on the rise.

“When we’d been in the field, England would come into our dressing room, and vice-versa. They were terrific opponents but there was a real bond between the teams off the field.

“It was third time lucky for me in England (he’d lost 1-0 in 1953 and 2-1 in 1956). It had been intensely competitive, and I did everything I could for my country, and at the end of this summer, I could walk away feeling satisfied with my lot. Lawrence Olivier said on his deathbed: ‘Always do your best, you can do no more.’ That has stayed with me.”

At Old Trafford, Davidson also made 77 not out, hitting 20 off a David Allen over, with two sixes and two fours.

Elsewhere that summer, a Russian espionage ring was uncovered in Britain, the first London black minicabs were introduced and JFK said he wanted a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

Davidson played 44 Tests, taking 186 wickets at 20.53; 25 were against England (84 at 23.76). He was also a good batsman, making 1,328 runs at 24.59, with five half-centuries.