Ollie Davies responds after comparisons to cricket heroes Steve Smith and David Warner

He's been compared to Steve Smith, David Warner and Phillip Hughes all in the one breath. But young NSW cricket sensation Ollie Davies plans to carve his own unique path to the top after overcoming an early season snub to dominate bowling attacks around the country.

The 23-year-old finished the Sheffield Shield season fourth on the leading run-getters' chart with 670 runs – including three centuries – at a competition-leading average of 67 and strike rate of 81.01. And that's after playing three fewer games than the three players – Beau Webster (914), Cameron Bancroft (778) and Nathan McSweeney (762) – ahead of him.

Incredibly, Davies was overlooked by NSW selectors at the start of the summer but now looks a lock in the Blues' middle order for years to come. His latest century prompted skipper Moises Henriques to rate Davies in the same league as three of Australia's most revered batsmen this century.

"He's very hard to stop. He's always moving the scoreboard forward," the Blues captain said. "He reminds me a lot of a mix between Steve Smith, David Warner and even Phil Hughes - they're always looking to score runs.

"They're able to score runs in areas that other batters maybe can't. For him to come out and score three hundreds in seven games this season in bowler-friendly conditions - it just shows that mindset of always scoring runs and putting the bowlers under pressure."

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Ollie Davies responds to Smith and Warner comparison

Davies was blown away by the comparison. "It made me feel pretty good. He's been a big supporter of mine over the last year or so and really given me some backing and some confidence," he told Yahoo Sport Australia.

"While I do hopefully bat a bit like those players - and I will definitely take a compliment and comparison like that - I also feel like I've got my own little thing going as well. I like to bat similar in red-ball cricket as I do in white-ball. I try to score runs off balls that I think I can score runs off, no matter the time in the game. That's sort of my plan in all three formats. I'd definitely say I'm a comfortable at that (first class) level."

With an ageing Australian line-up in the Test arena – and the white-ball sides in constant change - Davies senses international opportunities will open up over the next few years, "Hopefully those chances open up in the next couple of years. If I keep scoring runs then those things will just sort of take care of themselves," he said.

"My plan is to have a 10-game season for NSW next year and go in knowing I can perform at that level. The challenge then is to do it season after season and prove I can play at a higher level." Davies' impact on the national scene was confirmed when he was named in the Sheffield Shield team-of-the-year on the cricket.com.au website – an official arm of the Cricket Australia media department.