I always knew I’d be back: Davies

ALEX Davies admits he is glad he suffered what was a career-threatening injury.

And the Lancashire wicketkeeper believes he may not have had the best season of his career – or be heading off on an England Lions tour later this month – if he hadn’t needed crucial surgery on his knee.

Twelve months ago, Davies was just getting back to walking again after the operation, having missed the previous season with the injury.

He admits that before going under the knife, there were concerns he would never play again.

But he has revealed the battle to get back fit – and back out in the middle again – gave him a new focus on the game.

“People talk about injuries being a negative thing, and it sounds weird, but I am really glad the injury happened when it did,” the 23-yearold said. “I feel like I underachieved a little bit in the years before the injury. I wasn’t quite as focussed or producing the volume of runs I wanted.

“Having that injury and missing a full year really does re-focus you and remind you what it is that you want.

“You have to sit on the sidelines for a year watching your mates playing, and you don’t get to. I always believed I would come back and play – and play well. But there was at the back of my mind before I went in for the operation thoughts about whether I was going to play again.

“That was a tricky time, but once you wake up and they say the operation was a success, that triggers something in you.

“It retunes you mentally, to make sure you do all the right things to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Davies worked hard through last winter, not only to get back fit again, but also on the mental side of coping with such a serious injury.

“The mental side rather than the physical side is what I have taken most from,” he said. “At first it was tough because I am young and just want to play cricket. Once that emotion dies down a bit, you start thinking logically about what you need to do.

“The medical staff here at Lancashire helped me both mentally and physically.

“The mental side was around 70 per cent of the battle. Physically, you just do what you are told, you do the swimming, you do the weights, you do the rehab. But the staff also keep you going mentally. They tell you that if you keep working, you will be back playing again, you will be able to go on Lions tours.”

Moving to the top of the order, Davies became the first Lancashire wicketkeeper in the club’s history to score more than 1,000 first-class runs in a season. His impressive year turned heads at the ECB, and he is flying off to Australia in two weeks, along with Red Rose team-mates Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood and Keaton Jennings with England Lions.

“This time last year I was just starting to walk again after the operation,” said Davies. “And this is what I was aiming for after my operation. I was aiming to have a really good year and get on to a winter programme with the ECB, like the Lions.

“As soon as I could walk again, pretty much every day was aimed towards receiving that phone call from (national selector) James Whitaker.”