Derbyshire Legends 6 - George Davidson (1866-1899)

Were it not for one thing, many Derbyshire fans would be unaware of the name of George Davidson.

That "thing" is his hold on what is still the club record innings of 274, made against Manchester at Old Trafford in 1896. It was one of three centuries made in a total of 577, the others being made by the "two Williams" - Chatterton and Storer.

It is interesting that these three men had such a sucessful match. They played a major role in what was a fairly good Derbyshire side that on its day was capable of beating anyone. It is fair to say that reports from the time suggest that they were not the easiest of men to get along with.

In his fascinating account of Derbyshire cricket at the time, Levi Wright recalls that "the three leading professionals were unfortunately not always the best of friends and their manner and treatment of other players, particularly young ones on trial, was far from helpful".

Indeed, things were so bad at one point that Chatterton and Davidson reputedly went through a season without speaking to one another after an argument at dinner one evening about a colleague.

A look at Davidson's record to the modern eye might not suggest a fine cricketer, but one has to take into account the fact that this was an era of at times under prepared wickets and of the fabled "sticky dogs" when the weather got to work on a track that had to remain uncovered after a game had started. Davidson only averaged a shade under 24 as a batsman from 260 innings, but he added to that with 621 wickets at 18. If one takes the claim of any cricketer as an all rounder seriously, their batting average should exceed their bowling one, and so Davidson must have been a good cricketer.

Like many who followed him, he had the ability to bowl for long spells and frequently did so. Wright recalled him disliking being taken off for any reason and praised him for his stamina throughout a long season. On one occasion at Leyton, he bowled from the start of the day at 12 noon until 1.35pm before a run was scored from him. He was taken off five minutes before lunch at 1.55pm and resumed after the interval. A man of average height, his curved run up started around mid-off and he bowled with great accuracy, as evidenced by a career record in which he conceded only two runs an over. A right arm bowler, he moved the ball a great deal off the pitch.

The Lancashire game in which he scored 274 saw him bat for seven and a quarter hours. He followed this by bowling 57-34-75-3 in Lancashire's first innings, in which they were forced to follow on. To the modern viewer, used to players complaining of burnout and tiredness after a Test series in which they've bowled little more, this makes astonishing reading.

Davidson also reached a century as part of another then record, the score of 645 against Hampshire at Derby in 1898. With declarations not possible at this time, his captain told him to get out so the bowlers could get to work, but Davidson batted on to score his century, following it with another 31 overs and 6-42.

His final game for the county saw another record to which he contributed, albeit inadvertently. He had missed several matches with a strain when Yorkshire visited Chesterfield in 1898 but declared himself fit to play in Walter Sugg's benefit match. Wright recalls that it was obvious from the first ball that he wasn't himself, and it was all he could do to finish the over. His absence from the rest of the innings left Yorkshire openers John Tunnicliffe and JT Brown a novice attack to face, and they responded with an opening stand of 554.

Davidson never played for the county again. During the winter that followed, a bout of 'flu worsened into pneumonia and he died at the tragically early age of 32, leaving a wife, six children under the age of seven and little money. It was a great loss to the county, but even Davidson would not have anticipated his greatest innings would still be a county-best 109 years on.