Ollie Davies may get a future chance to play for the West Indies. Australia’s new nemesis is just happy he can now bend after a surgeon ‘re-shaved’ his femur, LACHLAN McKIRDY reports.
Ollie Davies is one of the country’s most exciting betting talents.
The 22-year-old is explosive at the crease and has shown what he is capable of in the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder.
And it’s not just Australian heads turning.
Davies impressed with a knock of 115 against the West Indies while batting for a NSW/ACT XI in Canberra last month, clearing the ropes on three occasions.
It was a performance that one of the touring coaches noted.
“Their assistant coach has actually taken down my records and is trying to actually fix them for me,” Davies told CODE Sports.
What ‘she’ is, potentially represents the West Indies.
Davies’ mother, Simone, is from Trinidad. This means there is a possibility that Ollie, the eldest of her children, will represent the Caribbean nations.
He has represented Australia at under-16 and under-19 levels. But of course, change is something he has considered.
“I can get my Trinidadian passport, which is quite funny,” says Davies.
“I grew up supporting Australia but also the West Indies. I saw Kemar Roach when I was 10 and I just loved it.
“Then you go out and face it [in Canberra]it was pretty surreal.
“Whether you like it or not [play for the West Indies], is an interesting question. But it’s always helpful to have him there if an opportunity arose if it wasn’t working out here or something.”
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For now, Davies is convinced his best chance is in Australia. And he is in a better position this season to make the most of it.
For as long as Davies can remember, he has been dealing with a hip issue. He would get through the games with the help of Voltaren and wake up sore the next morning, but earlier this year it reached breaking point.
“I had a thing called a femoroacetabular impingement. Which basically means my hip joint wasn’t 100 percent seated in the right place,” says Davies.
“As simple as it is, it’s like early arthritis. The constant bone on bone meant that once the Voltaren wore off I couldn’t walk the next day.
“It is [an injury] I haven’t really seen this young, I think it’s a little bit older that’s starting to happen.”
Davies’ doctors and medical staff at Cricket NSW had tried to prolong the need for surgery. They knew that once he went under the knife, it was irreversible, preferring to try to stretch the last cartilage left in his knee.
But one day when he was driving from his car in the Entertainment District to the SCG nets at Moore Park, a five-minute walk that lasted almost half an hour in excruciating pain, he knew he had to go under the knife.
“They went in and shaved the bone so it wouldn’t catch on the other bone.
“I don’t have cartilage in my hip yet, but I’ll probably need another operation, or a hip replacement before I’m 35, if I’m completely honest with myself.
“But that has hopefully extended the time I can play cricket. It still comes and goes a little bit, but it’s 100 times better than it was last year.”
After months of rehabilitation, Davies finally returned to the field for Manly in October and looked like a new man – even if he didn’t feel it.
But it is forcing him to rethink how he bats and his recent run of big scores is a sign that things are moving in a positive direction.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous in my life to go out and bat because the last year I played I had a high score of 26 not out,” says Davies.
“I hadn’t hit a cricket ball for six months and I wasn’t sure if I would still be able to play cricket.
“I ended up getting 56, which was good. I got a hundred a few weeks later and then a hundred again and I said, ‘Okay, I’m back.’
“There is [changed how I play] bit that’s disappointing, but now, going forward, the sweep I probably won’t play as much – it’s a bit hard to get out of it. But other things should no longer be restricted.”
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For the most part, Davies had been able to play through his hip pain. But that’s because his opportunities had mostly come in white-ball formats.
The fact that his body was holding him was something the 22-year-old would never be happy with.
“It was difficult because I was not selected in the red ball matches. The excuse every time they didn’t pick me was, ‘Well, your hip isn’t good.’
“I kept telling my doctor, if I don’t have the surgery, they’re going to keep saying my hip isn’t good.
“Before, I struggled to get through a four-day game. Fielding was the worst part, I can’t field for 96 overs in a day.”
And with the changing dynamics of world cricket, that meant he thought about playing to his strengths.
Growing up surrounded by T20 cricket, Davies knows he could make a more than comfortable living being a gun for hire in domestic competitions around the world.
“The ultimate is to be green, but at the same time, you have to make money,” says Davies.
“Look at Chris Green, he’s gone around and toured and now he’s playing Shield cricket for NSW.
“It’s something I’ve thought about, but I still think at such a young age, I want to play red-ball cricket and see where I can take that side of the game.
“On the track, if that gets shortened or the hip can’t handle 96 overs a day anymore, that’s something I’d be interested in doing. Traveling around the world and playing cricket is very interesting, no matter who you’re playing for.”
Davies’ recent form suggests that recognition for the red ball is not far away. His recent centuries have all come in multi-day matches as his body gets used to spending more time at the crease again.
While he hopes to turn more heads in the Big Bash this year with the Thunder, it’s clear it’s only part of a bigger plan.
“I’ve had some good chats with Michael Klinger (head of men’s cricket at Cricket NSW) and some of the NSW lads, I want to play a full season for the Thunder but Sheffield Shield cricket is next on my list,” says he. .
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been pigeonholed as a white ball player, but I’ve definitely been seen playing with the white ball over the red ball. I don’t necessarily want to prove people wrong, but I want to prove to myself that I can play red-ball cricket and do it successfully.
“And every 100 red balls I scored were still 100 balls or more.”
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Davies’ confidence stems from self-belief in his own ability.
After so many hours in the nets and growing up with a bat in hand, he knows exactly what he can do: hit any bowler he faces for six.
“Definitely, especially against spin,” he adds.
“When I go out there, I wouldn’t say it’s an arrogant thing, but it’s more confidence knowing that I can take this guy down.
“He’s not going to get every perfect ball and when he doesn’t, that’s when you capitalize.”
But just as important is his ability to disconnect from the game he loves. He knows how all-encompassing cricket can be, so he’d rather be in the water with his dad every chance he gets.
“Dad is a carpenter, so he works from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. So the afternoon surf is a chance to hang out with him too,” says Davies.
“This once [interview] and the surf is good, I’ll be right there. It’s the first thing I check on the way home.”
With no restrictions for this season of the Big Bash, Davies is already looking forward to a more balanced lifestyle – “You can go and have a big Chrissie lunch or dinner,” he says.
But surfing is the way to his heart. It could be West Indies’ way of persuading the boy from Curl Curl to follow in the footsteps of Brendan Nash, who played domestically for Queensland before moving to the Caribbean and making his Test debut.
“The last month the surfing has not been good.
“I go to trivia every Wednesday night with my family and we ran into a guy from Trinidad. He was chatting with us and saying how good the surfing has been in Tobago.
“He said to hit him every time I come there and he’ll take me. So I’m sure I’ll be able to find plenty of places to surf wherever I go.”
