Tamworth first grade cricket: Lachlan and Jess Davidson suit up for Bective East in the same match

It is hard to know who got the bragging rights when siblings Lachlan and Jess Davidson played together in Bective East’s one-day loss to City United at No.1 Oval in January.

Medium-pacer Lachlan, 18, snared five wickets – four bowled – to finish the match with 5-35 off eight overs, his second best figures and his fourth five-wicket haul.

Jess, 15, who also bowls medium pace, though slower, finished the match with 0-21 off five overs and made a duck. 

But she did make her first-grade debut – a feat so rare for a female that Bective East skipper Adam Jones believes that former international Leonie Coleman may have been the last to do so in Tamworth – back in the 1990s.

Lachlan was also 15 when he debuted in first grade, also for Bective, although he conceded that Jess achieved the feat at a younger age. It was their first game together, other than numerous backyard cricket battles.

What’s this Faces of Tamworth all about?

Lachlan admitted to feeling “disbelief” at watching his sister bowl her first over, knowing that “this sort of experience is very rare”.

So rare, it may be the first time a brother and sister have played first grade together in Tamworth.

He said: “It was an awesome experience. She bowled very well – bowled a good line and length for first grade, which was really good to see. I think she’s got a lot of improvement, but I think she’ll get there some day.”

Lachlan – who Jones said had “bowled extremely well again” – believed that his little sister was “excelling massively”. 

“I think she’ll go a long way,” he added.

Jess played for the Cricket Australia XI at the under-18 nationals last year and represented ACT-NSW Country at the under-15 nationals in Adelaide in January.

She said: “I definitely enjoyed it [her first-grade debut). It was a good experience.

“It’s definitely a bigger challenge. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it [the call-up].”