Mark Davis (South African cricketer)

Mark Jeffrey Gronow Davis (born 10 October 1971) is a South African former cricketer active from 1990 to 2005. He was club coach of Sussex until he left by mutual agreement in October 2017.^[1] During his playing career, he played domestic cricket for Northern Transvaal (later known as Northerns), MCC, and Sussex, as well as making appearances for South Africa A and South Africa U-24s.^[2]

Playing career

Davis appeared in 127 first-class matches as a righthanded batsman who bowled off breaks. He scored 2,941 runs with a highest score of 168 and took 232 wickets with a best performance of eight for 37.^[2] He was the captain of Northerns cricket team, before moving to England for the 2001 season,^[3] as Davis held a British passport.^[4] During a match against Nottinghamshire, he almost became the first person in English first-class cricket history to concede a five run penalty under Law 42 of the Laws of cricket (fair and unfair play); his second warning for repeatedly running on the wicket caused the single he scored to be deducted from the score.^[4] In 2002, Davis and Robin Martin-Jenkins scored a record eighth-wicket partnership for Sussex of 291;^[5][6] as of 2015, this is still the highest eighth-wicket partnership for Sussex.^[7] Davis' innings of 111 in the partnership was his maiden first-class century.^[3] He was part of the Sussex team that won the 2003 County Championship, Sussex's first County Championship win,^[8] and scored his highest first-class score of 168 in a 2003 match against Middlesex.^[3]

Coaching career

Davis announced his retirement from cricket in 2005, and was then announced as a Sussex club coach, replacing Peter Moores.^[8][9] He took control of the Second Team,^[3] and Mark Robinson, Sussex Professional Cricket Manager, said that "His experience both within the professional game as a player and most recently by running his own coaching academy in South Africa will make him a vital member of the coaching team."^[8] In 2009, he gained his Level 4 Coaching Certificate, making him only one of three Sussex coaches with the qualification.^[3] In 2011, he had a Testimonial Year, to celebrate 10 years of service to Sussex CCC.^[3] In 2012, Davis swapped roles with Carl Hopkinson, making him an assistant to manager Mark Robinson.^[10] In 2013, Davis was a contender to become Sri Lankan head coach,^[11] although Marvan Atapattu was eventually awarded the job.^[12]

References