Caribbean treasure the crown jewel in Aussies' T20 Cup tilt

Tim David has his back to the waves rolling through Maracas Bay, eyeing off the wooden beach shacks serving bake and shark. A gold chain is dangling from his neck. The Caribbean suits him.

Mitch Marsh has been playing cricket against David since they were kids attending rival Perth private schools. "He's right at home here. He drinks rum and coconut water," Marsh says, laughing as he adds: "Put that as your headline."

West Indians have had a profound influence on David's career. When Mumbai Indians splashed out A$1.5m on the power hitter who had yet to play international cricket, it was with the hope he would eventually take over Kieron Pollard's finishing role.

"When you think about six-hitting, you think about Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell – those Caribbean guys, they're the kingpins of that territory," says David.

"You watch them, you see how they go about it, how they play in the Caribbean. You don't want to emulate them so to speak, but there's some inspiration and enjoyment watching those guys play."

The Caribbean is about to get a taste of what David has learnt.

The 28-year-old is one of his side's most important players at this T20 World Cup, yet he remains one of the least recognisable. Sandwiched between all-format stars like David Warner, Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc, David's name on Australia's team sheet to face Oman in their tournament opener will be an anomaly. He won't even be the most notable David on that list.

But, as Marsh says, "when you're picking names in a squad of 15, he's one of the first put down in any conditions around the world."

In T20 cricket, David has a case to make that he's been more effective than any of his Australian peers since his career took off on the back of a boom maiden KFC BBL season with the Hobart Hurricanes.

Since the start of that tournament, only Nicholas Pooran has hit more T20 sixes than David's 218 (Pooran has 245) across the world. Over that period, no Australian has gotten close to matching his strike-rate of 164.34, a mark bettered only by three others globally. All this from the middle to lower order, positions Australia have traditionally struggled to unearth natural players for in T20 cricket.  

In run chases, David thinks less about runs required and more about the sixes required.

"When I commit to hitting boundaries, hitting sixes, that's when I've been most effective and most destructive," he says. "When you're going like that, you look at a (required) score, you might go, 'right, it's 24 off 12,' and some people might say that's 12 an over. But it's four balls. So what's a realistic amount of sixes I can hit from 12 balls?

"You can hit four sixes in four balls if you're going really well. But to be realistic, you might miss a couple. I will try and finish it in sixes. I suppose that's the method I'm most confident with."

David got Australia home from a tougher situation than that hypothetical back in February, against New Zealand in Wellington. An equation of 36 from 12 balls soon became 33 from nine. David went 4, 6, 6, 1, 6, 2 and then 4 on the final ball to win the match.

He has a knack of being at the crease when it matters. From his six T20I innings during the summer against West Indies and NZ, David was not out in all but one of them and lost only once.

As much as his reputation has been built abroad, it was in Australia where he got his break. In 2019 he lost his WA contract and took the unusual path of playing for Singapore, where he was born to Australian parents. He was working as a bartender when the Perth Scorchers invited him back to join their academy, before he played eight games for them in 2019-20. Then the Hobart Hurricanes pinched him. 

"I can't remember exactly where I saw him play, but I was like 'this bloke's a gun'," says Marsh. "I remember speaking to (then Hurricanes captain) Matty Wade about it. I jokingly said, 'Don't sign him, he's no good', knowing he was really special."

In Nathan Ellis, David found a kindred spirit at the Canes. Their relationship started with David hitting him for a six over cover in a practice match at Lindisfarne Oval. "It was one of the most extraordinary shots I'd ever seen," Ellis says. "From then I thought we'd found a good one."

The pair became close mates and now are Australian teammates. Both got there the hard way. "We didn't have the pathway journey into professional cricket, which is the way Australian cricket is set up," David says.

"We came through a different route and I guess that gives us a different perspective. When you get a chance you make the most of it. We got into this team by performing around the world or in different leagues."

David pumped 279 runs at 153.29 in that first BBL season with Hobart to propel himself onto the global T20 franchise circuit. Within 12 months, his record-breaking IPL deal purchase went through. He made his debut for Australia not long after, replacing Steve Smith at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

All told, he has featured in eight separate short-form domestic leagues. He has played nearly as many games for Mumbai-affiliated teams (49) as he has the Hurricanes (53). His jaunts abroad have included two stints with St Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League, narrowly finishing as runners-up in 2021 and getting his first taste of the region's seafood delicacies. Saltfish, served with green figs in St Lucia, is a favourite along with the Trinidadian staple, shark in fried flat bread – bake and shark.

David has a different way of looking at the cricket world compared to most Australians. The way he sees it, a tournament for Australia is not all that different to a tournament with the St Lucia Kings, or the Mumbai Indians.

"Let's say you come to the CPL," he says. "You're there to win the CPL, whereas you go to a three-match T20 series, you kind of go, 'sure you want to win the series, but what's the actual perspective behind this?'"

The World Cup, though, "is the most important tournament there is". He continues: "You wouldn't be necessarily satisfied with your career until you win a World Cup. That's what you can hang your hat on."

Australia have made allowances for his unusual regimen. Between those T20I series against West Indies and NZ earlier this year, David returned to Dubai to play for MI Emirates in the ILT20 tournament he had left midway through to fulfil Australia duties. He helped win MI Emirates a playoff match before missing the tournament final to play in the T20Is against NZ. He ended up playing three T20s in eight days in three different countries.

"I wanted to play the final as well, but I wasn't cleared (by Australia) to play that game," he says. "When I commit to something, I want to be a part of it. I want to win tournaments.

"The Aussie boys won the (2021) T20 World Cup at the Dubai stadium … playing finals cricket is what you spend all your energy for. That's what you'll look back on fondly."

Australia's brains trust recognises David's unique ability necessitates unique handling. International teams have realised they cannot take players for granted.

"The environment we create here is a bloody good one and people still want to play cricket for Australia," Marsh says. "The lure of franchise cricket is there for everyone and the landscape of the game has changed a lot over the last period of time.

"But I hope Tim enjoys this as much as any franchise cricket that he plays. T20 cricket is vitally important for Australian cricket and he's going to be a big part of that future if he wants to be."

For now though, that bake and shark is not going to eat itself.  

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's Group B fixtures

June 6: v Oman, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 10.30am AEST

June 9: v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 3am AEST

June 12: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST

June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST

Super Eights, finals to follow if Australia qualify

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial