Charles Allan Davis (born 1 January 1944) is a former

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in fifteen

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

between 1968 and 1973. Davis started his

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

career at the age of 17, playing for

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. After a good Shell Shield season in 1968 Davis was selected for the West Indies. The highlight of his career was a home series against

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, in which he scored 529 runs in four Tests at the average of 132.25. He was also a useful bowler, taking 63 wickets at first-class level. His Test career ended while the West Indies were in transition, and the arrival of newer players accounted for any place for Davis in the side.

Career

Born 1 January 1944, Belmont,

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Davis was part of the West Indies squad that toured Australia between November 1968 and February 1969. The West Indies had dominated Test cricket for most of the decade, but at this stage the team contained many ageing stars and encountered an Australian team on the rise. Davis was one of the younger players in the touring party, and made his Test debut at the age of 24. Australia won the five-match series 3–1. After they lost the first Test, the West Indies made three changes to their team by bringing in three debutants: Davis, Roy Fredericks, and Prof Edwards. Davis batted down the order (after the sixth wicket in the first innings, and one place lower in the second, coming in after the fall of the seventh wicket) and made scores of 18 and 10. By inflicting an innings defeat on the West Indies, Australia batted just once in the match. Davis bowled 24 overs, conceding 94 runs while taking the wicket of opening batsman

Bill Lawry William Morris Lawry (born 11 February 1937) is an Australian former cricketer and commentator who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Test matches, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia ...

. It was the only Test Davis played on the tour. Davis' next taste of Test cricket was during the West Indies tour of England in 1969. In the meantime the West Indies had drawn a series with

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and the team had undergone significant changes in personnel. Only five of the sixteen touring West Indians had played in England before. On his return to the team in the opening Test, Davis batted much higher than he had on debut and in both innings came in after the fall of the second wicket, scoring 34 and 24. Davis registered his maiden Test century in the second Test and was the only one scored by a West Indian during the tour.

Notes

External links

* 1944 births Living people West Indies Test cricketers Trinidad and Tobago cricketers North Trinidad cricketers {{WestIndies-cricket-bio-stub