Cricket legend’s Alan Davidson’s ‘secret’ £10,000 home for sale

A secret move made by one of Australia’s greatest ever cricketers is about to produce a massive payday.

A secret move made by one of Australia’s greatest ever cricketers Alan Davidson is about to produce a massive payday. Picture: James Horan

The home of one of Australia’s most celebrated cricketers, Alan Davidson, bought for less than £10,000 in the 1950s, is set to go under the hammer.

And you won’t believe the treasures his son found in the garage!

Davidson, an all-rounder who represented Australia in 44 Test matches between 1953 and 1963 with an average of 20.53 with the ball and 24.59 with the bat, died at the age 92 in 2021.

His son, Neil Davidson, says news of the purchase of the classic double brick family home at 48 Churchill Ave, Strathfield, more than 70 years ago had come as a huge surprise to Alan’s wife, Betty.

“When Dad bought it, he didn’t even let Mum know, and when she heard about it she started crying!” Neil said.

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48 Churchill Ave, Strathfield has a $2.8m price guide.

The purchase more than 70 years ago came as a huge surprise to Alan’s wife, Betty.

Davidson in action.

“ ‘Oh God, I wanted something by the beach!’ she said. But they never regretted it, it was a great house to grow up in, with so much love in it, and so central being close to the station, all the private schools and the shopping centre.”

With Betty’s death in 2023, the four-bedroom main house and two-bedroom granny flat on the 685 sqm block is going to auction on January 30 with a $2.8m guide via Norman So and James Kaye of Belle Property Strathfield.

So says the property has been well received.

“We brought it to market on the first week of January, and we didn’t expect much, but we’ve had on average 15 groups through the open homes,” he said.

“Buyers love the location, 300m or three minutes to the Strathfield CBD, and it’s also close to elite schooling.

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Late Aussie cricket legend Alan Davidson at his Strathfield home.

“A lot of people want to move in and do renovations to the front dwelling as well.

“And at around $3m, it’s still relatively affordable for that Strathfield market.”

Neil Davidson has lots of happy memories, including, naturally playing cricket in the back yard with his famous dad.

“Many times, although Dad, when he was playing Test cricket, he was away for seven months on tour,” he said.

“My brother and I used to play in the backyard, and we used the same bats and ball and stumps that Dad brought home as memorabilia.

“I remember us using one of the famous black stumps from one of the tied tests … my brother and I broke it in half and it was dispensed to the incinerator.

“But when he was home, he loved playing in the backyard with us, he was a real family man, even being named NSW father of the year in the 1980s.”

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The granny flat was built two years ago.

The granny flat has modern interiors and is full of light.

More recently, after his father’s death, Neil had the job of going through Alan’s collection of memorabilia in the double garage, which was pulled down to build the granny flat.

“There were all of these trunks, which he brought back in the P & O ships from the cricket tours … when I opened them, they were full of these moments in time … 30kg of cricket ties; Brian Lara’s gloves when he got the double century at the SCG.

“You had to be very careful going through the boxes, you’d get halfway through and there’d be five letters from Bradman; 80 or 90 bats signed on both sides from every tour he ever went on; cricket balls, trophies and photos.”

All of these treasures have now been auctioned off, with some of them donated to the SCG and MCG.

But the house is still available and could be yours.

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Originally published as Cricket legend’s Alan Davidson’s ‘secret’ £10,000 home for sale