Interesting case

[Matt79]

Stumbled upon this bloke on Cricinfo the other day having never heard of him before.

His test average of 54 over 15 tests is obviously inflated a little by a few not outs, but you'd still have to wonder why he didn't get more tests if that had been his record to date - include eight 50+ scores. He was good enough to have a career average of over 40 in first class cricket as well.

Anyone ever heard anything about why he didn't get more of a go internationally, beyond Cricinfo's comment that he "inexplicably lost his place"?

Someone will probably make a similar thread about Brad Hodge in 30 years time...

 

[Perm]

Straight from cricinfo - "He was unfortunate not only because of selectorial whims, but also that he happened to be playing while West Indies were in transition, and he was at his peak at a time new faces were forging their way into the side".

 

[Matt79]

Not much of an explanation, but thanks for quoting back to me the article I linked...

 

[thierry henry]

ugh

Stuff like this makes me lay awake at night. Seriously.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Might have something to do with the ridiculous amount of draws in WI cricket at that time (he played at home to India and New Zealand, where WI got nine draws and one loss in ten Tests). He scored at a strike rate of 38.

Was replaced by Lawrence Rowe, then aged 23, for that series with Oz, too.

Cribb would have loved him to bits, no doubt.

 

[Matt79]

Might have something to do with the ridiculous amount of draws in WI cricket at that time (he played at home to India and New Zealand, where WI got nine draws and one loss in ten Tests). He scored at a strike rate of 38.

Was replaced by Lawrence Rowe, then aged 23, for that series with Oz, too.

Cribb would have loved him to bits, no doubt.

That at least is some form of explanation, combined with his merely very good, rather than brillant first class record - nice work.

Looking at those tables, it's insane that Bradman tops the "most tenacious batsman" list while scoring at 10 runs/100 balls faster than the second fastest man on that list (the ever so slouchy Mike Hussey), who is the only other person on that list with a scoring rate of most than 50/100 balls...

Or put another way, that on the other table provided, it shows that he maintained that average while also having a higher career strike rate than Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Ian Botham.

 

[Precambrian]

Home bully.

 

[Prince EWS]

Might have something to do with the ridiculous amount of draws in WI cricket at that time (he played at home to India and New Zealand, where WI got nine draws and one loss in ten Tests). He scored at a strike rate of 38.

Was replaced by Lawrence Rowe, then aged 23, for that series with Oz, too.

Cribb would have loved him to bits, no doubt.

I'd probably still be calling for his recall if I was around for his Test career.

It really was terrible logic to drop the guy if that's the reason, though. Nothing boils my blood more than "We're having too many draws; the batsmen are scoring too slowly!" It's much more likely to be a bowling potency problem.

 

[Matt79]

@ Precambrian - Maybe, except those 4 tests away all happened at the very start of his career, and he did score a ton in one of his three tests in England. They persisted with him another 2 and a bit years, or 11 tests after that, in which he averaged over 60 before they dropped him after a couple of bad games...

 

[Prince EWS]

Home bully.

Should have been picked at home then.

 

[The Sean]

Knew who you were talking about without even clicking the link there - I remember when I first got into cricket stats and was looking through West Indian career averages seeing this bloke called Davis standing alongside the likes of Headley, Richards, Sobers et al in the 50+ camp.

I always wondered myself why someone with such a fine record played so few Tests. As I understand it, it seems that the West Indies selectors were almost looking for an excuse to drop him, as results weren't great and he was seen as a fairly dour and defensive type when surrounded by such natural strokemakers as Sobers and Kanhai. However, this overlooked the fact that he was the platform on which these batsmen could launch their attacking assaults.

His form leading up to that Australian series was relatively poor and so this gave the selectors their excuse to leave him out of the line-up until the final two Tests (helped, if I remember correctly, by a fans protest in Trinidad to include him). When he failed in those last two Tests the Windies selectors discarded him for good, which seems harsh to say the least.

A sad postscript to the Charlie Davis story is that he contracted MS some years after his retirement and has been battling it ever since.

Anyway that’s the story as I’m familiar with it – would be great if someone who knows more about it could add more detail.

 

[Precambrian]

Ah yes, two bad tests are as pathetic as excuses come, especially when he had a very good record prior to that.

 

[fredfertang]

There must be an interesting story with this family – For once I don’t think the selectors can be blamed - Charlie was 29 when he played his final test and he didn’t play another first class match for two years after that and only played three more over the rest of his career – by 32 he was gone

His older brother Bryan was a test player too and played for Glamorgan for a couple of seasons – his last day of first class cricket was his 31st birthday

 

[BoyBrumby]

There must be an interesting story with this family – For once I don’t think the selectors can be blamed - Charlie was 29 when he played his final test and he didn’t play another first class match for two years after that and only played three more over the rest of his career – by 32 he was gone

His older brother Bryan was a test player too and played for Glamorgan for a couple of seasons – his last day of first class cricket was his 31st birthday

Could just be the pressure of the need to earn a living I suppose. Although a few years older, Lord Ted was gone from first class cricket by 33. Seems weird in these days of IPL & central contracts with the attendant lolly, but I imagine even as late as the early 70s it wasn't that uncommon.

 

[Uppercut]

There must be an interesting story with this family – For once I don’t think the selectors can be blamed - Charlie was 29 when he played his final test and he didn’t play another first class match for two years after that and only played three more over the rest of his career – by 32 he was gone

His older brother Bryan was a test player too and played for Glamorgan for a couple of seasons – his last day of first class cricket was his 31st birthday

A fountain of cricketing knowledge. You should seriously consider a career telling stories in pubs.

 

[fredfertang]

Just been trying to find out a bit more - apparently Bryan's family found the Welsh climate wasn't to their liking and he had to move back to the Caribbean - apparently he wanted to carry on playing for them as an overseas player but couldn't find a job in Trinidad that allowed him six months a year off - moral of tale - Brumby knows! - bit odd though that he couldn't even find a job that allowed him to play for Trinidad

 

[fredfertang]

A fountain of cricketing knowledge. You should seriously consider a career telling stories in pubs.

I've tried - that's how I got my ASBO

 

[Craig]

I've tried - that's how I got my ASBO

(So you were serious? )

 

[fredfertang]

Oh yes I am certainly subject to an ASBO - the terms are :-

"You shall not discuss cricket in either a public place or a private place in the presence of Mrs Fertang"

The order was imposed unilaterally by Mrs Fertang with flagrant disregard for the rules of Natural Justice or the provisions of the ECHR. Breaches, and sometimes even anticipated breaches, are usually punished harshly and immediately without due process and the order seems unlimited in time however despite these and other obvious legal flaws there appears to be nothing I can do about the situation

 

[Matt79]

Go on strike - you'll withhold your 'marital duty' until she relents her unprincipled stance.












You might want to take a couple of extra pillows for the sofa while you wait for that stance to work.