One of the founders of this great cricketing dynasty was the Legendary A.O. ‘Paddy’ Clifton who joined the then Narara Cricket Club in 1901, married into the Gavenlock family, and captained the Narara team from about 1906 until 1921 including the club’s amazing victory in the 1911/12 Newcastle competition. With the change in residential boundaries Paddy moved to the Ourimbah (later Lisarow-Ourimbah) Club where he played until he was in his sixties.
 
All four of Paddy Clifton’s sons (Arthur, Vern, Clem and Roley) played local first grade cricket with both Arthur and Vern later playing first grade in Sydney, while four of his grandchildren (Peter Davidson, Wal Clifton, Mick Birt and Alan Davidson), as well as two other Gavenlock descendants, Barry and John Olsen played Sydney first grade or higher with Alan Davidson going on to become one of Australia’s greatest-ever Test all-rounders and a long-serving NSW cricket administrator.
                                                                                                                                                
Such was the family’s cricketing talent that, at their peak in the early 1960s, a team made up entirely of the sons and grandsons of Paddy Clifton, led by Alan Davidson, played and defeated a district representative team in a match at Grahame Park.
 
In total more than 70 members of the Gavenlock/Clifton/Davidson family have played local grade cricket with the family names being perpetuated in three sporting fields: Gavenlock Oval, Paddy Clifton Oval and Alan Davidson Park. In addition, the most sought-after trophy in the CCCA competition, the Jack Gavenlock Shield, is awarded for the First Grade premiership each year. Apart from their overall contribution to Central Coast cricket, the three families have played a major role in the development of the Lisarow-Ourimbah and Narara-Wyoming Cricket Clubs both of which date back more than 100 years. It was in honor of these families that the Clifton Cup and Davidson Shield were created in 1999 for competition between the two clubs with the Cup being awarded to the most successful club and the Shield for the best individual performance.