Alan Keith Davidson (14 June 1929 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a left-handed all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order batsman, and an outstanding fast-medium opening bowler. Strongly built and standing six feet tall, Davidson was known for his hard hitting power, which yielded many long-hit sixes.

His bowling was a mainstay of the Australian pace attack of the 1950s and early 1960s, and from the late 1950s he was widely regarded as one of the finest pace bowlers in the world. Davidson's classical bowling action imparted late swing, allowing him to move the ball to deceive batsmen and he bowled with great control, conceding fewer than two runs per over across his career. In 2006, writer Geoff Armstrong considered that Davidson was, along with Wasim Akram, one of the two greatest left-arm fast bowlers in history.

Davidson was also known for his anticipation in close catching positions and his accurate and strong throwing arm from the outfield; his ability to take improbable close range catches saw him earn the nickname "The Claw". He was the first player to obtain the distinction of achieving the double of getting ten wickets and scoring 100 runs in the same Test match.

Early years The son of Leslie Keith Davidson and Hilda Aileen Clifton, Davidson grew up in Lisarow, New South Wales (NSW) near the city of Gosford on the NSW Central Coast. He learnt to play cricket on a pitch that he dug out of a hill on his family's rural property. By the age of nine, he was playing in the second division of the Gosford grade competition. Throughout his high school years, he represented Northern High Schools in the state combined public schools' competition where he played against his future Test captain Richie Benaud, who captained City High Schools. During his teenage years, Davidson kept fit by working on the family property, chopping wood and carrying farm produce.Haigh, p. 31.

Davidson originally bowled left arm unorthodox spin, but when his uncle's team was missing a fast bowler in a country match, Davidson stepped in, remaining a fast bowler permanently. In 1948–49, he moved to Sydney and joined the Northern Districts grade club. A talented rugby league player in his youth, he trained with the Western Districts Football Club in the off season to maintain his fitness.

The Australian Test team was touring South Africa in 1949–50, creating opportunities for young players back home. This was especially true with respect to fast bowling, as Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall, Australia's two leading pacemen, were from New South Wales and were in South Africa. In addition, Ernie Toshack, who had been in the Test team since World War II, had broken down.Perry (2005), pp. 266–267.

Amid this environment, Davidson was selected for New South Wales. On debut against South Australia, Davidson claimed the wicket of Bob McLean with his second ball and finished with 4/32. He then made 34 with the bat as New South Wales took a 282-run lead, but was unsuccessful in the second innings, taking 0/90 as South Australia held on for a draw.

He finished the season strongly, with 19 wickets in the last three matches against Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.Benaud, pp. 41–43. This included a haul of 5/28 and 2/37 as he helped New South Wales to a win over their arch-rivals Victoria, who had defeated them earlier in the season. His debut season ended with 26 wickets at 18.73.Fiddian, pp. 92–93. He did not surpass his debut innings with the bat and ended with 110 runs at 15.71.

These performances earned him selection for the Australian Second XI tour of New Zealand under Bill Brown.Cashman, p. 39. Most of the matches were not first-class, and in the match against Wairarapa he showed his all round skills by taking all ten wickets for 29 and then made an unbeaten 157, helping Australia to a win by an innings and 466 runs. In the only international match against New Zealand for the tour, Davidson made a duck and took 0/36 in the first innings. He then took 4/24 in the second innings, including the wickets of Bert Sutcliffe and Verdun Scott to help instigate a collapse. The hosts were 9/76, only eight runs ahead, when time ran out. He ended his maiden tour in Australian colours with nine wickets at 18.22 and 18 runs at 6.00 in three first-class matches.

With the return of the Test players for the 1950–51 season, Davidson had to perform strongly when given opportunities in order to hold his position. He started his season productively by taking 7/49 in the first innings of the opening match against Queensland, including the wickets of Test players Ken Archer, Colin McCool and Don Tallon, but he expressed disappointment at his erratic line and length, frequently bowling full tosses and long hops. New South Wales won by an innings, and Davidson took four wickets in the return match, but results began to dry up thereafter. He had the opportunity to show his skills against Test opposition as New South Wales played England ahead of the Tests, but he went wicketless, and was dropped in December after the next match against Western Australia. Davidson ended the season with 14 wickets at 22.71 and 42 runs at 10.50 from four matches.

Despite another season of limited opportunities in 1951–52—he played in only four matches—Davidson continued to improve. He struggled at the outset, taking only four wickets at 41.25 in his four innings, before breaking through against a full-strength Victorian team. He broke through for his first half-century, scoring 76 before being bowled by Bill Johnston— at the time ranked the No. 1 bowler in the world. He then took 4/93 in the second innings, removing Test captain Lindsay Hassett and Australian representatives Ian Johnson and Doug Ring. He then took five wickets in a match against Queensland before bowling his state to victory over Western Australia in his final match for the summer. He took 6/13 to cut down Western Australia for 50 and took 3/36 in the second innings to seal a 250-run win. Davidson ended the season with 22 wickets at 18.00 and 137 runs at 27.40.

Davidson brought himself to the verge of Test selection in 1952–53; it was the first summer during which he commanded a regular place in a full-strength New South Wales team. He took a total of 6/74 in the second match of the season against Queensland, and then impressed against the touring South African Test team. He took a total of 4/113, including batsmen Jackie McGlew and Russell Endean. Steady wicket-taking, combined with an all round performance of 66, 40 and 3/89 against Western Australia saw Davidson selected for the Australian XI, which took on South Africa in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. He managed only nine with the bat, but took 5/108 in the only innings of the match. Nevertheless, he was overlooked for Test selection. He took 41 wickets at 26.75 and scored three half-centuries with the bat to total 418 runs at 34.83.

Following these consistent performances, Davidson was selected for the 1953 Ashes tour. He improved on his career best in consecutive matches against Tasmania before the Australians sailed to England, scoring 87 and 90. The second effort featured a 167-run partnership with Richie Benaud. It was to be the first of many joint efforts by the pair of bowling all rounders for Australia over the next ten years. Davidson then took 3/45 with the ball,Benaud, p. 71. including the wickets of Miller and leading Australian batsman Neil Harvey.

Early international career

After being omitted in the opening tour match against Worcestershire, Davidson made his debut on English soil against Leicestershire. He scored 63, featuring in a century partnership with Harvey, before taking 2/23 and 0/35 in an innings victory. In the next match against Yorkshire, he removed Len Hutton, regarded as the best batsman in the world at the time.Armstrong, pp. 170–176. In the nine first-class matches leading up to the Tests, Davidson performed steadily without being spectacular. He scored two fifties and passed 20 in every completed innings to aggregate 317 runs at 45.28, and took 17 wickets at 22.12, taking more than two wickets in an innings on only one occasion. That occasion was against the Marylebone Cricket Club, which was a virtual England Test team, while Australia fielded their strongest possible team. In what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests, Davidson took 2/17 and 3/49, removing Trevor Bailey, Godfrey Evans, Johnny Wardle, Tom Graveney and leading batsman Denis Compton.

When the Tests started at Trent Bridge, Davidson was named in the playing XI. He supported the pace attack of Miller, Lindwall and Johnston in the five Tests. His debut in the First Test was unremarkable. As with most of Australia's batsmen, Davidson struggled against Alec Bedser, who broke the English Test wicket-taking record in the wet conditions,Perry (2005), pp. 331–332. making only four and six. He took 2/22 in the first innings as the match ended in a rain affected draw.Benaud, p. 80. His first Test wicket was that of Hutton, caught by Benaud, and he added Evans in the latter part of the innings.

He scored a hard hitting 76 in the first innings of the Second Test at Lord's to help Australia take control, but a stubborn partnership by Bailey and Willie Watson saw England hang on for a draw. Davidson bowled only 24.5 overs for the match, and Wardle was his only wicket. Rainy weather greeted the players in the Third Test at Old Trafford and more than half the playing time was washed out.Perry, p. 335. Davidson took 2/60 in the drawn match, removing Reg Simpson and Willie Watson. Australia were in a good position at the start of the final day of the Fourth Test at Headingley, with England leading by only 78 runs with five wickets in hand. However, Bailey (38) and Jim Laker (48) stubbornly resisted with a mixture of time-wasting and dour defence. Davidson eventually removed both, but there was not enough time remaining to secure an Australian victory.Perry (2005), pp. 337–340. His match figures of 3/59 from 50.1 overs were in large part due to the defensive tactics of England.Perry (2005), p. 40. The fate of The Ashes thus came down to the Fifth Test at The Oval. Davidson scored 22 and 21 and could not take a wicket as England won by eight wickets to regain the urn for the first time in two decades. Australia had blundered by omitting a specialist spinner, mistakenly thinking that the pitch would not spin. Davidson hit England's spinners out of the attack for a period, but succumbed to the variable bounce of the pitch.Haigh, pp. 81–82.

Davidson passed 25 in the Tests only once took two wickets on three occasions. He finished the series with 182 runs at 22.75 and his sparingly used bowling yielded eight wickets at 26.50.Benaud, pp. 81–83. Despite this, he was Australia's sixth-highest run-scorer and third-leading wicket-taker.

Despite his lack of performance in the Tests, Davidson showed his potential with consistent performance throughout the tour. He compiled 944 runs at 41.04 during the tour and amassed five half centuries and a century. He scored three fifties in the last month of the tour, and after missing his maiden first-class century with 95 against Lancashire, he broke through with 104* against Somerset at County Ground, Taunton. He also took 50 wickets at 20.96 with the ball. Davidson was steady with the ball, never taking more than three wickets in an innings. He ranked seventh among the Australians in both run-scoring and wicket-taking.