Nicknamed ‘Claw’ by fellow allrounder Keith Miller after an impressive slips catch, Davidson routinely impressed teammates and fans with his batting, bowling and fielding. He snared 186 Test wickets at 20.53, and scored 1,328 Test runs at 24.59.
He was active in that sense up until recently, co-authoring Neil Harvey’s biography The Last Invincible, which was released in June.ĭavidson, who played 44 Tests in 1953-63, was widely regarded as the world’s best left-arm fast bowler until the emergence of Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. The move proved to be a masterstroke, with Mallett flourishing in a first-class career that would eventually span 183 matches.ĭuring his long career he earned the ironic nickname Rowdy, due to his quietly-spoken nature.Īfter his playing career finished Mallett scored a legion of fans through his writing. During that series, Mallett snared 28 wickets at an average of 19.10, including a match haul of 10 wickets in the fifth and final Test.īorn in Sydney, Mallett started his career in Western Australia, but with spinners Tony Lock and Tony Mann ahead of him in the pecking order, he made the switch to South Australia. Mallett rocketed to fame during his second overseas tour for Australia as Bill Lawry’s team secured a 3-1 victory over India.
