A beautiful spring day in Cardiff might well have been the occasion when Steve Davies the disillusioned wicketkeeper incontestably became Steve Davies the batsman
David Hopps at Cardiff20-Apr-2015
ScorecardSteven Davies finished on 200 not out•Getty Images
A beautiful spring day in Cardiff might well have been the occasion when Steven Davies the disillusioned wicketkeeper incontestably became Steven Davies the batsman. The day when a career presumed from afar to be racked by indecision became a career on the up once again and worthy of celebration.Double centuries tend to have that effect, especially double centuries as mellifluous as that Davies summoned against Glamorgan. As the joggers perspired on the banks of the Taff, alongside the ground, the sun shone most strongly of all on Davies as he extended his stand with Kumar Sangakkara to 294 in 67 overs with barely a hair put out of place.Sangakkara, more than most, knows of the mental struggle to make the change from a wicketkeeper-batsman to that of a specialist batsman. The dual role balances the side; it is exhausting and it simultaneously promotes and destroys a career. To dare to abandon the gloves is a huge undertaking: an adult version of a bicycle without stabilisers.It was a decision forced upon Sangakkara, presented by Sri Lanka’s selectors as a decision for the general good. Sangakkara is honest enough to admit in hindsight that it was a wise move. He has always had the intellectual capacity to see the big picture, although admitting that abandoning the gloves was a good thing is easier when you have in such wondrous form that you have made five centuries in six knocks and your impending retirement from international cricket later this year is regarded with general disbelief. Talk about quitting at the top.”If you are a wicketkeeper and playing Test cricket or four-day cricket it’s a pretty hard job to bat in the top five,” Sangakkara said. “Six or seven is ideal. It gets tiring especially during a long season.”In my case the decision was taken away from me and I’m pretty happy that it was because if they had asked me I would have probably wanted to stick with keeping and it would probably have been the wrong call.”As long as Stevo is comfortable with the decision he has taken, and with how he is batting, he’ll be fine. The way he batted he looked absolutely at ease. If he can bat that well he’s definitely a specialist batsman without any doubt. He is still young. I remember in my early days how difficult it was and he makes it look very easy. There was a lot in Stevo to admire from the other end.”He never looked rushed, he never looked ruffled. He had a steady rhythm right throughout his innings. His first double hundred was a fantastic achievement.”Davies relinquished the gloves last May, a decision that his director of cricket, Alec Stewart, while entirely supportive, presented as temporary. Stewart’s own England career was marked by endless changes of heart by England’s selectors about whether he should take the gloves or open the innings. No wonder he regarded any decision as something to be measured in weeks.But perhaps Davies is ready for stability. He has had an emotional few years: the death of Tom Maynard, a Surrey team-mate, struck him as deeply as anybody, he has spoken of depression, and Sir Elton John became a supportive figure during his emotional recovery. Time does not heal a dressing room at a consistent rate. There can rarely have been times when his batting has looked so composed as it did against Glamorgan.It was a benign pitch, and a modest attack, and many will want to witness harder examinations, but there were times when, if you were half watching, it could easily have been either Davies or Sangakkara who was the left-hander blithely striking another ball to the boundary.Batting for the first time with one of your heroes is something to treasure, so why not make the most of it and make it last 67 overs? It was impressive that Davies did not go all faux common-or-garden about it and pretend that it was just an everyday occurrence, but that he told it as it was. Off the field, too, he looked in good order.”There were some superstars about. Sanga: what can I say? He is unbelievable” Davies said. “He is a bit a hero of mine and to get that partnership with him was pretty special day for me personally and a great day for Surrey.”He is the best player in the world. That was the first time we have played together and he asked me what do you like during overs – do you like a lot of talking or not – and I was just like, I’m pretty chilled, whatever you said whatever, whatever you do is sweet. I was just smiling. I was happy.”Many people talk of the need to bat partnerships, but here was an example of how to do it: a batsman barely arrived in England, the sound of World Cup adulation still echoing; Kevin Pietersen, the centre of media attention, just dismissed; but the ability to respond in a giving way to the needs of a new batsman at the crease.Both Sangakkara and Davies had hundreds safely lodged overnight and they continued in similar vein on the second day. Their partnership was the second highest for any wicket for Surrey against Glamorgan, and was only 50 runs short of equalling the highest – 344 between Andy Sandham and Dick Gregory at The Oval in 1937 – when Sangakkara drove David Lloyd low to cover. Somewhere, some geese cackled. But by ten Glamorgan were in no mood to laugh.Andy Carter, on loan from Notts, persevered to collect four wickets before the declaration came upon Davies’ double hundred; a further 200 added on the second day in 50 overs. Carter persevered gamely, even if he not as much runs into the crease as approaches it carefully, as if on reconnaissance.”I’m really excited about focusing solely on my batting,” Davies said. “I want to score bigger runs – when I get in I want to go to go as big as possible. I haven’t done that in the past. I have got 70s and 80s. That is something that I am focusing on.”The wicket is pretty good. There is a little bit in there, but big runs and scoreboard pressure is the best way to go.”Davies’ abandonment of the gloves came at an unexpected time. The uncertainty over Matt Prior’s fitness, allied to his fading form in Australia, suggested to some that Davies, an inactive member of the 2010-11 Ashes-winning squad, might be in contention – although he could barely make a run at the time and England were already looking towards Jos Buttler, with Jonny Bairstow in reserve.What Stewart then called a “game to game thing” has grown into something rather more permanent. Never say never. But with two other wicketkeepers in the XI – Gary Wilson, the incumbent, and Rory Burns – the possibility that Sanga himself has packed his own gloves for an emergency and Ben Foakes signed from Essex as a wicketkeeper-batsman, even when Wilson takes leave to join Ireland, it will take quite a shift for Davies to don the gauntlets again.
