Freya Davies

Freya Davies (born 27 October 1995) is an English cricketer who plays for Sussex, Western Storm and England as a right-arm fast-medium bowler.[1]

Freya Davies
Personal information
Born (1995-10-27) 27 October 1995
Chichester, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Only ODI (cap 134)14 December 2019 v Pakistan
T20I debut (cap 48)24 March 2019 v Sri Lanka
Last T20I7 February 2020 v India
Career statistics
Competition WODI WT20I
Matches 1 7
Runs scored - -
Batting average - -
100s/50s -/- -/-
Top score - -
Balls bowled 42 150
Wickets 0 7
Bowling average - 21.00
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling -/- 2/18
Catches/stumpings 1/- 1/-
Source: Cricinfo, 19 May 2020

In 2010, at the age of fourteen, Davies made her debut for Sussex, taking the wicket of Charlotte Edwards.[2][3] She has played more than 70 games for her county.[4] In 2019, she debuted for England in both Women's Twenty20 Internationals and Women's One Day Internationals.

Early life and career

When Davies was a young child, her father, and her older brother Jack, both played for the family's local cricket club, Chichester. At the age of eight, Davies decided to join in, and played her first hard-ball game with Jack's under-11 team. She was attracted to fast bowling, because "that seemed like the most fun"; at 10 and 11 she was tall for her age, and that also helped. Eventually, she joined the Sussex junior ranks as an 11 year old.[3][5]

Three years later, in 2010, Davies made her debut for Sussex's senior team, against Kent, and was lucky to have England star Sarah Taylor behind the stumps. On the second day of her debut match, she took her first wicket, of the then England captain Charlotte Edwards, thanks in part to a catch by Taylor that Davies later described to The Cricketer as "unbelievable".[2][5]

At that time, Davies was a pupil at Chichester High School for Girls, a state school that did not have a cricket team. Two years after her county debut, Brighton College offered her a sixth form sports scholarship, and she accepted. The College knew of her potential because its then head of cricket, Alexia Walker, had been her captain on her debut.[5]

From Davies' perspective, the most appealing thing about Brighton College's cricket program was that girls could play in the boys' teams; she played for both the boys 1st and 2nd XI during her two years there. In 2020, Davies told The Cricketer:

"You got picked on merit and gender was irrelevant. I was really proud when I was picked because I knew it was because of my ability rather than being the token girl.

Boys’ cricket pushed you because they were naturally stronger. I had to really focus on my other strengths. I wasn't as quick as the other bowlers so it was about using my skills rather than speed.

The biggest thing about playing boys' cricket was how much of a challenge it was. It took me out of my comfort zone."[5]

After finishing school, Davies had to prioritise either study or cricket. England's elite women's cricket Academy is based on campus at Loughborough University, and therefore almost all current England players are Loughborough graduates or students. However, Davies chose the University of Exeter instead, as she felt it was the best choice for the degree in law she wanted to obtain.[2][3]

At Exeter, Davies gave priority to getting her degree. For two years, she also attended training sessions at Loughborough - an eight-hour round trip away - every other weekend. In her third year, she gave cricket away entirely, taking the risk that a place at the England Academy might not still be available to her if she wanted to resume playing the game.[3]

However, following her graduation in July 2017 with upper second-class honours, Davies helped her Kia Super League team, Western Storm, to its first title. Soon afterwards, she was awarded an England "rookie" contract, which enabled her to train full-time without having to take up other employment. Rookie contracts do not provide anything like a living wage, and the alternative for Davies was a lucrative career as a lawyer. Even so, she persisted with cricket; as she told ESPNcricinfo in 2019:

"... this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I've wanted to do this forever so it wasn't something I was going to give up on easily."[3]

Domestic career

Davies played every game for Western Storm in the Kia Super League from its inception in 2016 until its conclusion in 2019 (36 games).[6] The team were runners-up in 2016 [7] and won the title in 2017,[8] beating Southern Vipers in the final. In 2018, Storm made it to Finals Day, but lost to eventual winners, Surrey Stars, in the semi-final.[9] In 2019 Western Storm finished top of the KSL league, taking them directly to the final where they beat Southern Vipers by 6 wickets, to claim their second title and become the most successful team in KSL history.[10] Davies finished as the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 competition with a record 19 wickets.[11] She finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the four years of the competition with a total of 37 wickets.[12]

International career

In February 2019, Davies was one of twenty-one cricketers to be awarded a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).[13][14] Later the same month, she was named in the England women's cricket team squad for their tours to India and Sri Lanka.[15][16] She made her Women's Twenty20 International cricket (WT20I) debut for England against Sri Lanka Women on 24 March 2019.[17][18]

In October 2019, Davies was named as one of the first two players signed for London Spirit (alongside England captain Heather Knight), in the inaugural Hundred competition scheduled to start in August 2020.[19] The following month, she was named in England's Women's One Day International (WODI) squad for their series against Pakistan.[20] She made her Women's One Day International (WODI) for England, against Pakistan, on 14 December 2019.[21] In January 2020, she was named in England's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[22]

On 18 June 2020, Davies was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[23][24]

References
  1. "Freya Davies". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. "Freya Davies details 'crazy' rise up to England ranks". International Cricket Council. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  3. Nicholson, Raf. "Freya Davies treads her own path to England recognition". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. "Play Cricket Player Profile - Freya Davies". Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  5. Krarup, Ed (11 May 2020). "Freya Davies: "You got picked on merit and gender was irrelevant"". The Cricketer. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. "Western Storm Bowling Averages". Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  7. "Bates' stars as Vipers experience wins Super League". Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. "Priest guides Storm to maiden title". Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  9. "Nat Sciver stars with bat and ball to take Surrey Stars into the final". Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  10. "Final, Women's Cricket Super League at Hove, Sep 1 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  11. "Women's Cricket Super League, 2019 / Most wickets". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  12. "Women's Cricket Super League / Most wickets". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  13. "Freya Davies among players handed central contract with England Women". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  14. "Freya Davies to lay down the law in India". The Times. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  15. "Freya Davies awarded England Women contract ahead of India tour". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  16. "England Women name squad for India and Sri Lanka". England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  17. "1st T20I, England Women tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Mar 24 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  18. "Beaumont happy to see Davies' sacrifices paying off". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  19. "First players named in The Hundred men's & women's teams". The Hundred. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  20. "Sarah Glenn earns maiden call-up for England Women's squad to face Pakistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  21. "3rd ODI, ICC Women's Championship at Kuala Lumpur, Dec 14 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  22. "England Women announce T20 World Cup squad and summer fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  23. "England Women confirm back to training plans". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  24. "England Women return to training with September tri-series on the cards". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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