Education
Born in Bulawayo in what was then Rhodesia, Davison attended Gifford Technical High School in Bulawayo, where his sporting skills were first evident (he also represented Rhodesia in field hockey).
Born in Bulawayo in what was then Rhodesia, Davison attended Gifford Technical High School in Bulawayo, where his sporting skills were first evident (he also represented Rhodesia in field hockey).
Described as "an aggressive, fast-scoring right-handed batsman", Davison was also a useful right-arm medium-pace bowler and an outstanding fielder who captained Rhodesia in 25 matches. Davison made his first-class debut for Rhodesia on 25 November 1967, against Natal Bachelor in Salisbury, scoring 47. Davison soon attracted the attention of English county club Northamptonshire, playing for their Second XI in 1969 before switching to rival club Leicestershire in 1970.
Davison was enticed to captain Tasmania in 1979/80 and transferred from Leicestershire to rival county side Gloucestershire for the 1985 season.
His leadership of a Tasmania newly inducted into the Sheffield Shield proved crucial to an inexperienced side and he continued to alternate between Leicestershire and Tasmania until his retirement from first-class cricket at the conclusion of the 1987/88 Australian domestic season. By his retirement, Davison had scored 27453 first-class runs, with 53 centuries, which remained the most by any Rhodesian or Zimbabwean until surpassed by Graeme Hick.
37 of those were for Leicestershire. The second most by any Leicestershire player, while his 18537 runs for Leicestershire puts him ninth of their all-time highest runscorer list.
Davison was also a successful one day player, making 8343 List A runs, including 6744 for Leicestershire (bettered by only four other Leicestershire players).
This included an unbeaten 158 in 1972, which remained the highest List A score for the county until 1996, and at the time the highest score for any one day competition in the world. Following his retirement from cricket, Davison remained in Tasmania and was elected as a Liberal representative to the Tasmanian House of Assembly Division of Franklin in 1990, where he served until his defeat at the 1996 election.