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Davison hoping to help Canada make its mark

Canada's John Davison prepares for a ball from Bermuda's Dwayne Leverock as wicket keeper Dean Minors watches at the Gymkhana Sports club in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 2, during the ICC World Cricket League. PHOTO: AFP

John Davison was 33 years old when he finally made his mark as a Canadian cricketer.

Davison hit the fastest-ever World Cup century in the 2003 championship. He needed only 67 balls to reach the milestone in a group game against the West Indies.

Canada still lost. And Davison's career didn't quite take off the way he might have hoped.

Davison interrupts his life as a personal trainer and cricketer with grade cricket club Mosman in Sydney to captain Canada at the World Cup starting on March 13.

"I sacrifice my time and income to go away, but it's good fun," Davison said. "A lifestyle decision rather than a monetary one."

Canada is grouped with England, New Zealand and Kenya and will do well to avoid going out in the first round.

"I reckon if we have a perfect day, where four or five guys perform to the best of their ability and England or New Zealand have a poor day, you never know," Davison said.

Davison was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, where his Australian parents were teaching. But he only spent five weeks in Canada before moving Down Under.

He played local cricket in Melbourne before attending the Australian Cricket Academy in 1993, where he trained alongside Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting.

Davison didn't follow those two into the Australia team -- instead he joined the Victoria state cricket team where he played as a right-arm offspinner and middle to lower order batsman.

Canada came calling in 1999. Davison spent that offseason in Canada as a player and coach and was soon drafted into the national side.

Davison played in the Canadian team at the 2001 ICC Trophy, a tournament for cricket's lower ranked countries, before hitting the spotlight at the World Cup in South Africa.

Davison hit six sixes and seven fours to reach 111. His previous highest score in a one-day international was 31.

He followed that with the third-fastest 50 against New Zealand.

Then came the low.

Canada registered the lowest team score in the history of the World Cup when it was all out for 36 against Sri Lanka. No Canadian player made double figures and the 140-ball game is the shortest completed match in World Cup history.

Davison said he went drinking afterward with English tourists who had turned up to watch the game after it had finished.

"I just felt obliged to buy them a beer," Davison said.
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