Alan Davidson, the Australia allrounder who played a starring role in the 1960 tied Test, has died at the age of 92.The bowling allrounder, who made his Test debut against England in 1953, represented Australia 44 times in the longest format. The left-arm pacer had finished his career with a stunning average of 20.53, having picked up 186 wickets. His career-best figures of 7/93 came against India in 1959.Davidson was a handy batsman as well, registering five vital half-centuries in his career, including the 80 he hit in the first ever tied Test match in 1960 against West Indies. In the same game, he had also picked up 11 wickets.
Post retirement, Davidson ventured into administration and had served as the president of Cricket New South Wales for 33 years and was also an Australian selector between 1979 and 1984.He was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1964 and awarded the order of Australia (AM) in 1987. Davidson was also inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2011."Alan Davidson's passing is a sad moment for Australian cricket and for cricket across the world," Richard Freudenstein, Cricket Australia Chair said. "Alan was a colossal figure in our game, not only as one of the finest players to have represented Australia and NSW, but for the positive influence he exerted across the game as an administrator, mentor and benefactor. "The tremendous skill and the boundless spirit with which Alan embraced cricket and life embodied everything that is great about the game. He will remain a shining example for every player who follows in his footsteps." Against India at Kanpur in 1959 he took match figures of 12 for 124 included his career-best 7 for 93 in the second innings from 57.3 overs. He claimed a wicket with his last ball in Test cricket against England in 1963.
