Meet Tim David, the ‘tiny’ kid set to become an Australian T20 star via Singapore

Blessed with natural ability and an eye for the game, it didn’t always appear as though the life of a professional athlete would come calling for Tim David.

“He was certainly tiny,” Joel Paris, the fellow international bowler who grew up alongside David, tells CODE Sports.

“We always joked that his nickname used to be ‘Turtle’. He used to be the size of a turtle and poking some fun at him.

“He was probably the same shape as well. He was a bit of a chubby kid growing up and wasn’t blessed with height as long as I can remember, since he was probably eight or nine.”

Yet on Tuesday night, the Turtle will stride to the crease in Mohali to make his international debut.

A freelancer in every sense of the word, David has no state contract to his name but will play for match payments in the three-game T20 series against India. Cricket doesn’t come more off-Broadway than this, matches in horrific Australian time zones sandwiched between the AFL and NRL grand finals.

But still, David’s selection has garnered the world’s attention.

A short, 50-second clip on social media of him striking the ball in the nets while in Australian colours amassed a quarter of a million views in the space of a day.

Meanwhile, rivals note that David’s selection signals Australia’s intent to take their T20 strategy to the next level. No longer is it picking all-rounders and hoping for the best, they’ve turned their attention to the stars who have a proven ability to monetise their talent in the game’s shortest format.

They’re determined to prove that their World Cup success in 2021 was no fluke.

At the heart of the story, though, is David’s determination.

Starved of opportunity, he went and found it himself. Playing in the UK and representing the country of his birth, Singapore.

This is no traditional route to stardom, but he has all the hallmarks of a player perfectly suited to help the sustained success of the Australian T20 team.

“He’s always super competitive, he hated losing,” Paris says.

“He had the personality of wanting to stand up on a big stage when the time was needed and he has carried that all the way through his career.

“I think that’s a really big part of the reason that he’s been super successful for a while now.”

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Watching the clip of David in the nets in India, there’s a subtle difference in his technique in comparison to most other cricketers.

His hands are rotated slightly clockwise. It means the blade faces the sky just that little bit more – creating greater risk but giving him more leverage to launch deliveries into the crowd.

The approach stems from David’s hockey background. Like many kids growing up in Western Australia, time was split between the two sports.

“There’s certainly natural talent and ability there with the hand-eye coordination,” Paris says.

“Being able to hit a hockey ball and how you hit it with a hockey stick, there’s that really quick, fast hands, wrist motion.

“He played a lot of hockey growing up as a kid, I certainly feel like that helped.”

For a long time, David had to rely on that hand-eye coordination while at the crease. The strength that he’s associated with now is something that has developed over time. The commitment it required didn’t always come as naturally.

“I’m sure he’d be one of the first to admit, he was bloody tough to coach as a kid,” Paris remarks.

“He was incredibly stubborn but more because he demanded so much of himself and that’s been a common theme.

“When it didn’t go his way or how he would have liked from a performance perspective, he was hard and critical on himself.

“After finishing school he grew really quickly. He got a lot stronger and then spent 18 months hitting weights with strength training that was going to benefit his type of cricket.

“That was pure hard work. [He] understood that is what he had to improve on to be able to not only hit the ball further but more consistently as well.”

David steadily made his way through the ranks in Western Australia.

He broke through to debut for the Scorchers in BBL07 as a replacement player, appearing in four games.

The following year he was given a state rookie contract for the 2018-19 season. Eight more appearances for the Scorchers followed in BBL09, yet he was only able to amass a top score of 18 in that time.

Motivation was hard to come by, having been handed opportunities to succeed and failing to make the most of them. It’s why being cut by WA was the best thing that could have happened for his career.

“It’s a bit of a cliche, but it put him at a crossroads of what he wanted to do and he went across to England and played a lot of cricket over there,” Paris says.

“The beauty of playing cricket in England, there’s so much. You can go out and try a few things and know if it doesn’t come off you can play another game in a couple of days.

“Tim plays his best cricket when his mind’s not ticking over a hell of a lot, he can go out there and do what he does best. Going to England was a turning point and since then he’s hit his straps beautifully.”

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Eagerly watching David’s career from the periphery were interested onlookers in Singapore.

David’s father, Rod, played five games for Singapore in 1996/97 in the ICC Trophy. Tim was less than a year old at the time, but being born in the country meant he would always be eligible to represent Singapore should the opportunity arise.

Saad Khan Janjua, the CEO of the Singapore Cricket Association, tried multiple times to convince Tim to play for the country. Eventually, the schedules aligned.

“We approached Tim David’s father, I think in 2018, and then he was busy with his cricket,” Janjua tells CODE Sports.

“After that, he had an ankle injury and he was on and off in his domestic cricket. We approached his father (again in 2019) and he said that he will speak with his son.

“Then they confirmed he was available to take part in the upcoming tournament of the ICC T20 World Cup qualifier in Asia.”

David made his debut against Qatar on July 22 that year and went on to play 12 matches for the country in the space of nine months.

He stood out in many performances. A high score of 92* and an average of 46.50 are exemplary in T20 cricket by anyone’s standards.

But it is also Singapore cricket that can be thanked for transforming David into the middle-order specialist he is today.

“He started doing practice with the team and obviously, he was a medium-pacer and batsman at that time,” Janjua said.

“But due to his ankle injury, he was not able to bowl. I discussed with my coaches that we have to use him and give him extra training on his batting skills because he’s a strong guy and he can hit big.

“So what we did was focus on his range hitting and he performed very well.”

David embraced every aspect of playing for Singapore. He was committed to being part of their journey to qualify for ICC tournaments yet Covid disrupted those plans.

From March 2020, Singapore didn’t play another game of international cricket until June 2022.

But in his time with the team, David showed that he wanted to contribute as a valuable member, and not just on the field.

“When he joined the national team, he memorised the national anthem,” Janjua said.

“Just imagine that. Before starting the match, Majulah Singapura (the Singapore national anthem) and he’s the one from the team who used to sing it before the start of a game.

“It’s all about the national identity when you’re representing the country and he memorised the whole thing. It was a touching thing.”

David never considered playing for Singapore a step-down, nor did he ever indicate that he thought of it as a stepping stone for future Australian opportunities.

Playing for Singapore was simply a way to play more cricket. And for that, he’ll forever be grateful.

“There were no open discussions about wanting to play for Australia, neither were there discussions about just being happy playing for Singapore,” Paris says.

“I think what he did was not set boundaries on where he could get to and I think that’s been a really important part of his progression over the last 12 months.

“He’s happy to keep contributing to whatever team he’s playing for. He knows that if he can do what he does best consistently, there’s always going to be opportunities.”

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David’s elevation to the Australian squad received plenty of high-profile support.

Ricky Ponting, head of strategy at the Hobart Hurricanes where both David and Paris will play in this year’s Big Bash, stated that the big-hitter was the type of player who could “win you a World Cup”.

He was set to feature for Australia earlier this year against Sri Lanka but opted to focus on franchise cricket with selection not guaranteed.

The decision paid off, a weight of runs and eye-catching performances enough to force his inclusion in an Australian squad that won the World Cup less than a year ago. Yet again, David is making people do things his way.

“I think what’s been most impressive for me has been his consistency,” Paris says.

“The role that he plays, batting from five to seven, it’s the hardest position to bat in T20 cricket. To be able to strike the ball at 150-160 and average 25-30, it just doesn’t happen.

“He has a real potential to be that matchwinner and be that difference between Australia winning and losing in a lot of games.”

It’s a testament to David’s willpower that he has sustained the life of a nomad cricketer. His journey to this moment has been without the support of a year-round contract from a state to help his endeavours.

The fact he now regularly commands salaries over seven figures makes that aspect more palatable.

“When he was in England, he sent me the link of a house he was looking at buying in Perth. I said if he held off for another six-12 months he might be able to afford something a bit bigger,” Paris says.

“I’ll remind him about all that self-belief I gave him when he was younger. Might be a couple of bottles of wine or two.

“He’s a close mate. I love him dearly and what I love about him the most is who he is as a person.”

While David’s journey is one of self-determination, it also shines a light on the importance of international cricket at the associate level.

There’s no animosity from those who gave him his chance for Singapore. Janjua strongly believes that David’s path to the World Cup should be celebrated and in turn, will open up more opportunities down the line for players trying to make a name for themselves.

“When we had Tim David, he was not a big name,” Janjua says.

“Singapore provided a platform where he can showcase to the world what he is capable of. We provided Tim with a platform which he deserved and on that platform, he performed very well.

“His success is our success.”