Oliver Davies Smashes Fastest Double Century in Sheffield Shield History

Oliver Davies produced one of the great Sheffield Shield innings on Friday, smashing the fastest double century in the competition's history as New South Wales piled up the runs against Tasmania at Cricket Central in Sydney.

The 26-year-old opener reached his double hundred off just 186 deliveries before finishing with a magnificent 253 from 225 balls, an innings studded with 38 fours and four sixes. He became the first player to register a Shield double century since Caleb Jewell in February 2024, and shared a mammoth 250-run stand with Jack Edwards, who made 109, as NSW closed the second day on 441 for 6 after bowling Tasmania out for 245 — young leg-spinner Jake Scott taking 5 for 35.

The knock marks a stunning turnaround for Davies, the younger brother of Australia spinner Joel Davies, who endured a miserable previous Shield season with only 123 runs from nine innings. Before this game he averaged 32.73 in first-class cricket with just three centuries to his name.

After such a red-ball breakthrough, Davies has surely put his name back in the conversation for higher honors — a reminder that form, and history, can be rewritten in a single innings.