Rising Manly cricket star Ollie Davies smashes 165 runs in first grade blitz
OUTSTANDING young Manly batsman Ollie Davies showed why he is one of Australian cricket’s rising stars with a knockout display in the first grade match against Sydney University,
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OUTSTANDING young Manly batsman Ollie Davies came back from a bout of concussion to smash a knockout innings of 165 in Saturday’s first grade match against Sydney University at Manly Oval,
It was a performance that only reaffirmed the 19-year-old’s standing as one of the most exciting young stars in Australian cricket.
And on Wednesday Davies takes another big step forward in his career when he makes his debut for the NSW second XI against South Australia in Adelaide.
Davies big score came after he missed the second day’s play of the previous game against Mosman when a ball hit his helmet while fielding at short leg and subsequently failing an HIA test.
“I guess that week off allowed me to get really pumped up for the next game and I was really eager to get out there,” Davies said.
His eye-catching performance came as he faced 179 balls and included 14 fours and seven sixes.
Davies said his innings had not begun as he had hoped but he displayed a real resilience to work his way into his rhythm.
“At the start I didn’t feel good so I just faced as many balls as I could,” Davies said.
“And after I passed about 70 runs it just kicked on and I felt really good.
“When I got to 80 I was thinking about my 100 and if got that opportunity I didn’t want to get 105 or 110, I wanted it to be a big one.”
And once he got past his century Davies set himself a goal of scoring 150 which would have really helped his team.
“I put a big emphasis to make sure I didn’t get out in the 100-120 period,” he said.
As the innings progressed and the confidence grew, Davies reckoned he was hitting the ball as well as he ever has.
Besides making his debut for the NSW second XI, Davies is sure to be selected for the NSW Under 19 side for the national championships being held in Perth in December.
Davies’s effort stole the spotlight from teammate Ryan Farrell, who produced a terrific performance himself, scoring 126 not out that included 12 fours and six sixes.
“It was the best I have ever seen Ryan bat, it was awesome to watch,” Davies said.
Manly are in the box seat heading into Saturday’s second day’s play against University, thanks largely to the efforts of Davies and Farrell.
The home side declared with the massive score of 6/461 and University will resume at 0/29 and facing a massive run chase.