Tim David: Journey from Singapore to Australia
Mohali (Punjab) [India], September 18 (ANI): Tim David, a Singapore-born batter who travelled around the world hitting bowlers into the skies for fun, has finally found his new taker in Australia, who has selected this hard-hitting player in their squad for the tour to India and ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
The batter could finally be seen wearing yellow colours during the first T20I against India in Mohali on September 20.
Born in March 1996 to Australian parents, he migrated to Australia at age of two and spent the rest of his childhood and teenage years in Perth.
In 2017, two years before his international debut for his country of birth, he was roped in by the Australian Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Perth Scorchers. He made 12 appearances across BBL seven and nine and could muster only 109 runs, with a best individual score of 18.
Also, he made his Singapore debut in July 2019 against Qatar in the T20I format in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Region Final, scoring 38 off 29 balls with three fours and a six on his debut.
In his career for Singapore, David has represented them in 14 matches and has scored 558 runs at an average of 46.50 with four half-centuries.
However, it was his move to Hobart Hurricanes in 2020 that proved to be game-changing for him.
In his debut for Hobart, he smashed a 33-ball 58. He continued to build on his reputation as a serious power hitter throughout the season, scoring 279 runs across 14 games at an average of 31.00. He scored one half-century in the season. His strike rate was pretty good as well, sitting at 153.29.
From that point onwards, contracts kept pouring in for this 6-foot-5 power-hitter.
A contract came from Pakistan, when Lahore Qalandars signed him as a replacement for Joe Burns during the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL). The investment helped David showcase his talents to Asian audiences. He scored 180 runs in six matches at an average of 45. He scored one half-century, with the best score of 64*. The batter had an impressive strike rate of 166.66.
This was followed by a stint with England's Surrey County Cricket Club. He played the last two matches of T20 Blast 2021 for the side, scoring 20 and 25*. In the One Day Cup that followed, David hit 340 runs in ten matches across eight innings at an average of 68.00, scoring two tons and a fifty. His best was 140*.
In the same year, he was signed by Southern Brave for The Hundred and by Saint Lucia Kings in Caribbean Premier League (CPL). In the 2021 season of The Hundred, he played only one match and scored 15 runs and helped his team winning. In the 2021 edition of CPL, he was the third-highest scorer in the tournament, scoring 282 runs at an average of 35.25. He scored a half-century, with a best of 56. His strike rate was at 146.11.
His 2021 stint with Hobart in BBL saw him scoring 218 runs in 15 games at an average of 24.22 and a strike rate of 163.90. His best individual score that season was 46*.
A deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore also happened for 2021 season, but he could only score one run in a solitary match played for the side.
2022 brought more deals for this young, lanky hard-hitter. He was signed by Multan Sultans. David had a great tournament, scoring 278 runs at an average of 39.71 in 11 innings with two half-centuries and the best individual score of 71. His strike rate was an impressive 194.40.
He was purchased by Mumbai Indians for a massive A$ 1.53 million back in February this year. In the season, his strike rate of 216.28 was the highest by any player to have faced at least fifty balls in a single season. In eight innings, he scored 186 runs at an average of 37.20, with the best score of 46. In his side's final league game, he played a memorable knock of 34 off 11 balls that helped Royal Challengers Bangalore move into playoffs.
After his performances in IPL 2022, he was signed by the prestigious English county club Lancashire for the 2022 season. He had a successful campaign for Lancashire, scoring 405 runs at an average of 28.92 in 17 matches with two half-centuries and the best score of 66. His strike rate was at around 174.
However, his impressive T20 cricket had a rare miss as he could not perform as per expectations,
With ICC T20 World Cup set to happen this year, players like Ricky Ponting wanted David in the Australian side because as per the ICC rules, he could represent the team immediately. Ponting even went on to say that he could win the side T20 World Cup with his batting.
David got the reward for all his hardwork in T20 Leagues worldwide after he was selected for Australia for their tour of India and T20 World Cup. He ended his career for Singapore, In his representing them in 14 matches, scoring 558 runs at an average of 46.50 with four half-centuries.
Australia's T20I series against India will start from September 20. The next T20I match will take place in Nagpur on September 23, followed by the third and final T20I match in Hyderabad on September 25. (ANI)
Source: Sports