Captain Mitchell Marsh and coach Andrew McDonald are grateful to have David in Australia’s side after his last-ball heroics against New Zealand
Alex Malcolm22-Feb-2024The reaction of Tim David after sealing an extraordinary last-ball chase in Wellington was telling.His captain Mitchell Marsh wore a look of sheer joy, surprise and amazement as he leapt into David’s arms after the ball crossed the rope.But David was all business. His expression had barely changed. He looked like Novak Djokovic after a straight-sets second-round demolition job at a Grand Slam. David expected he would make 31 not out off 10 balls and win his team the game. That’s how he makes his living.Related
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Anyone who has watched David closely in the global T20 leagues over the last few years would not have been surprised at all.Yet there is a sizeable group of Australian fans who don’t watch global T20 franchise cricket because it happens on the other side of the world while they are asleep. They haven’t even watched much of his short T20I career for Australia, because 20 of the 23 he has played have been broadcast behind a paywall.They have watched him in the BBL playing for an underperforming Hobart Hurricanes side and thought he was all hype. There was an odd narrative beginning to develop that David was not a lock for Australia’s World Cup squad.Australian coach Andrew McDonald, who has never had any doubts of David’s ability or his place within the side, was pleased that David was able to translate what he has been doing in franchise cricket to the international stage.”We’ve seen it all around the world, and now we’re starting to see that really connect in Australian colours as well,” McDonald said after the Wellington victory.”That’s really pleasing, and it’s an exciting prospect to have Tim David finishing games like that for Australia.”There is an inherent distrust of David’s story amongst traditional Australian cricket fans. How can a player who has never played first-class cricket be a lock-in in the national team? The great irony is that David did everything he could in Australia’s traditional pathway, dominating grade and second XI cricket in Western Australia, before opting for Associate and franchise cricket after not being offered a full domestic contract.
“You’ve seen him dominate T20 comps around the world and come onto the international stage and feel at home playing for Australia. It’s special to watch and [we’re] very proud of him.”Mitchell Marsh on Tim David
Rather than distrust David, Australian fans should be rejoicing that their selectors are finally taking the role of specialist T20 finisher seriously. They should also be full of praise for David doing exactly what they crave from their national players, which is banging down the door with performance in the specific role that they are chosen to play.David’s chasing record in T20 cricket is phenomenal. Wellington was the 25th time in 198 T20 innings David had finished not out in a winning T20 chase. In 24 of those 25 successful chases, he has faced fewer than 17 balls. In high-pressure moments, with the game on the line, David has walked out 24 times with no time to waste and no time to settle in, and got his team home striking at 192.12, clubbing 70 boundaries in 254 balls faced.It is interesting to compare his experience with Matthew Short, who was next into bat in Wellington. Short, six months older than David, has played 114 fewer T20s than David and only been not out four times in winning chases. He had opened in all four of those and was 72 not out or more when the winning runs were struck each time. Short has batted lower than No.4 only 19 times in his 100-game T20 career, and only once in a winning chase.For all of David’s successful chases, the learnings from the failed ones are just as valuable. David has batted in 57 losing chases in T20 cricket and been not out in seven of them. His strike-rate in losses drops to 151.20.Mitchell Marsh and Tim David finished off the chase for Australia•AFP/Getty Images”It takes a long journey,” McDonald said. “I think any time you’re in those finishing roles, it’s littered with failure across that journey.”To be able to come through and out the other side, and when you get that opportunity as well to be in those situations and then take the opportunity, there’s a lot of mental strength to it.”But there’s also just a lot of skill, high-level skill. It’s powerful hitting, it’s something different. We’ve seen some great death hitters over time and sometimes in opposition teams as well.”It’s a scary proposition when he walks to the crease for any opposition bowlers.”I think the journey and the failures along the way build the player you see out there today.”Marsh spoke of David’s calm mindset when he walked to the crease with Australia needing 44 to win from just 19 balls.”Complete trust in your game and a real confidence to be able to go out there and do that,” Marsh said.”From the moment he came out he was really calm, he knew what he wanted to do and I think he’s just learning and learning over the last two years.”You’ve seen him dominate T20 comps around the world and come onto the international stage and feel at home playing for Australia. It’s special to watch and [we’re] very proud of him.”New Zealand were not surprised by what they saw from David. Lockie Ferguson in particular had seen it before when David smashed 24 not out from 13 balls for Mumbai Indians against his Kolkata Knight Riders in last year’s IPL, including the winning run off his bowling.”Obviously Tim is very good and he plays a lot of T20 which I think helps his mindset in those scenarios,” Ferguson said.”He’s probably played them a lot more potentially than other players and certainly that experience gives him a lot of confidence and he did the job.”
