Cameron White
Encyclopedia
Cameron Leon White is an Australian cricket
er and current Australian Twenty20
captain. A powerful middle order batsman and right-arm leg-spin bowler, White made his first-class cricket
debut as a teenager in the 2000–01 season for the Victorian Bushrangers
as a bowling all-rounder. Early comparisons with Victoria team-mate Shane Warne
faded as White took on a role closer to that of Andrew Symonds
, a batsman who bowled occasionally.
In 2003–04, he became Victoria's youngest ever captain at the age of 20 when he took over leadership of their one-day side, and the first-class captaincy followed the season after. International recognition came for the first time in 2005, but White found himself in and out of the side as the selectors and national captain Ricky Ponting
looked for White to improve his bowling to play as a front-line spinner. Two successful winters with English county side Somerset
helped to propel White back into the selectors' minds. After a couple of further unfruitful international spells, including four Test matches
in 2008, White finally secured a regular place in the one-day squads after a string of good performances in 2009.
and bowl as third or fourth change. His first-class
debut came in March 2001, aged 17, against New South Wales
. Batting at number nine, White scored 11 runs in his only batting innings of the match, and claimed 4/654/65: White claimed four wickets and 65 runs were scored while he was bowling. coming on as third change bowler. He made one further first-class appearance that season before joining up with the Australia Under-19 cricket team
for two youth Tests against Sri Lanka
.
He captained the Australia Cricket Academy side that toured New Zealand, beating New Zealand Academy 3–1 in a four-match one-day series, after a pair of draws in two three-day matches. Soon after, he made his List A debut for Victoria, but the match was rained off after 42.1 overs without White taking any part in the match. White received his first senior man of the match
award a few days later for his two wickets and score of 91 batting at number seven during the Pura Cup
match against South Australia. He was named as captain of the Australia Under-19 squad to compete in the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand
, and led his team to victory in the competition, beating South Africa
by seven wickets in the final. White finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 423 runs, with two of the other top-four batsmen also being Australian.
Despite his success with the bat during the Under-19 World Cup, Victoria continued to use White as a bowling all-rounder, a decision that seemed to be justified in the 2002–03 season when White passed 50 just once in his 13 first-class innings and claimed 28 wickets. In his last match of the season, he claimed his maiden five and ten-wicket hauls, taking 6/66 in the first-innings against Western Australia and 4/70 in the second-innings to help Victoria to a 10 wicket victory.
and Shane Warne
share the captaincy of Victoria's ING Cup
side, the Victoria selectors appointed White as the captain for the 2003–04 season. Aged only 20, White became the youngest player to captain the Victoria state side in its 152-year history to that point. His coach, David Hookes
said that "White has shown at a young age a successful understanding of captaining a team". The decision was supported by the reports that during the Under-19 World Cup, he captained the side with "flair, control and maturity far beyond his years". White was also called upon to captain the first-class side early in the 2003–04 season, after regular captain Berry broke his finger during a practice match. After a win and a loss while captaining the ING Cup side, White was named man of the match on his debut as Pura Cup captain, taking six wickets to lead Victoria to a five wicket victory over Queensland.
White was given his first taste of international cricket in December 2003. Having taken four Indian wickets during a tour match for Victoria, White was selected to play for Australia A
against the same opposition later in the tour. Batting at number six in an Australian side that also included Victoria team-mate Brad Hodge
, and was captained by Michael Hussey
, White made little impression on the Indians, making just 20 runs in his two innings and taking no wickets. White retained his place in the A side to face Zimbabwe in two 50-over contests, claiming two wickets.
The 2003–04 season saw White's batting improve markedly in first-class cricket but he tore some ligaments in his right leg, therefore ending his 2003-04 season. A return of five half-centuries in eighteen innings saw his season average finish in excess of 30 for the first time. He also claimed 30 wickets in the season, the most in a single season in his career to date, although his average suffered compared with the previous season, rising to over 35. A couple of cameo innings also indicated what was to come, 58 runs off 65 balls against Western Australia, and 75 runs off 97 balls against South Australia, an innings that included 7 fours and 3 sixes, showcased the strengths that would later see White shine in the shorter Twenty20
format of the game.
These improvements in White's game, and an injury to Stuart MacGill
, saw White named as part of the 13-man Australia Test squad to tour Zimbabwe. With the Australia selectors keen to take two spinners on the tour, MacGill's injury allowed them to select White "with a view to the future." A tour match against Zimbabwe A brought a wicket for White, but he was denied the chance of making his Test debut when the two-match series was called off due to disputes between the Zimbabwe cricket board and their rebel players. White described the decision as a missed opportunity "to see how everything went and how an international Test match is played".
The 2003–04 season had been capped by victory in the Pura Cup
following a 321 victory over Queensland in the final, in which White made a half-century and claimed five of the oppositions wickets. Victoria captain Berry retired from professional cricket after the triumph, and White was named as his replacement for 2004–05. White was pleased with the appointment, saying that the captaincy "brings out the best in my game and the extra responsibility is good for me". In December 2004, White made his maiden first-class century
, making 119 after Victoria were forced to follow-on
against Queensland. His partnership
of 205 with Ian Harvey
, a record seventh-wicket partnership for Victoria, and 152 from opener Jason Arnberger
helped Victoria recover to a second-innings total of 508/8 declared
. A fine bowling performance then saw Queensland bowled out for just 169, capping a "remarkable fightback" by Victoria.
During his early career, parallels were drawn Victoria team-mate Shane Warne; both were blonde, and both were leg-spinners. It was soon apparent that he did not have the ability to turn the ball as much as Warne, his style being described as more reminiscent of Anil Kumble
instead. Mid-way through the 2004–05 season, White played four matches for Australia A against the touring West Indians and Pakistanis. Three 50-over matches brought him two half-centuries and a duck
, and his first experience of Twenty20
cricket resulted in an unbeaten
58 with a strike rate over 150. Victoria did not qualify for either Pura Cup or ING Cup finals, but White's improvement was again significant; his first-class averages remained roughly the same as in the previous season, but he more than doubled his previous best season batting average in one-day cricket, passing 30 in the format.
After his impressive form for Australia A during January 2005, White was selected as part of the Australia A side to tour Pakistan in September that year. After claiming four wickets, and averaging 35.50 with the bat in the 2 four-day matches, White shone in the subsequent one-day games. Not required to bat in the first, he then scored 106 not out
in the second and 59 not out in the third, also claiming a tail-end wicket. Having now demonstrated his ability as a big-hitting all-rounder, White was selected to make his international debut during the 2005 ICC Super Series against the ICC World XI. Shaun Pollock
, captaining the World XI team, said that his batsmen would target the young leg-spinner, but Australia captain Ricky Ponting
said he expected White to bowl, after he'd "handled things well in the Victoria game against them". He was named as supersub in the first two matches, being on field only during the ICC World XI innings, therefore being unable to bat. He did not bowl in the first match, and only bowled three wicket-less overs in the second. Despite controversy regarding the official status of the matches, these two appearances as supersub signified White's first two One Day International (ODI) appearances. He started the third match, but as Australia closed their innings on 293/5, White was again not required to bat, nor did he bowl in the following ICC World XI innings.
White was named as a bowling supersub again for the first ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy
, replacing Katich at the start of the New Zealand innings. He bowled one wicket-less over, conceding four runs. After missing out on the second match, White returned for the third, getting the opportunity to bat for the first time. He was dismissed for a golden duck, falling to Chris Martin
first ball. In the New Zealand innings, he claimed his first senior international wicket, bowling
Hamish Marshall
.
, and 6 wickets, trailing only Shane Harwood
, both Victoria team-mates.
In April 2006, White joined up with English county side Somerset
for the first match of the County Championship
. After Somerset were forced to follow-on by Gloucestershire
, White came in at number five and scored 172 runs off 228 balls before finally being caught off the bowling of former Victoria team-mate Ian Harvey. Despite this innings, Somerset only managed a team total of 287, and lost the match by an innings and seven runs. Two weeks later, on 1 May, Cricket Australia announced that along with James Hopes
and Mick Lewis
, Cameron White's national contract would not be renewed for the next 12 months. When Somerset captain Ian Blackwell
suffered a shoulder injury that put him out of the game for three months, White was named as his replacement. As with Australia Under-19s and Victoria, the added responsibility seemed to improve his game. A score of 109** is used to signify that White remained not out
at the close of his team's innings. against Glamorgan
in the 50-over Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was followed immediately by 131* in the County Championship against Worcestershire
, a half-century against the touring Sri Lankans and then a second-innings 108 against Surrey
, all made in the first half of June.
The Twenty20 Cup
gave White another chance to display his skills in the shortest format of the game. White was joined at Somerset by fellow Australian Justin Langer
for the tournament, and the pair shone in Somerset's opening match of the competition. Opening the innings, Langer made 90 runs off 46 balls, but was outscored and outpaced by White's 116*, scored at more than two runs a ball. The century was White's first in Twenty20 cricket, and he capped off his performance by claiming Gloucestershire's tenth wicket to wrap up a 117 run victory. Just under two weeks later, White surpassed this score, at the time the joint highest made in Twenty20 cricket, with 141* against Worcestershire
. His runs, made off 70 balls, set a new world record Twenty20 total that would stand for almost two years before being beaten by Brendon McCullum
. He finished the competition with the leading batting average, and his 403 runs trailed only team-mate Langer's 464 and Leicestershire batsman Hylton Ackerman
's 409.
In August, with Somerset slumping, White scored back-to-back fourth-innings centuries in the County Championship, but neither could rescue his side from defeat. First, he made 111 against Essex
, and then under a week later, he made the highest individual score in the fourth-innings of a first-class match by remaining 260 not out at the close of Somerset's innings as Derbyshire
beat them to record their first home win in four years. Despite Somerset finishing bottom of Division Two of the County Championship, White had his most successful season of cricket in his career to that point. Having made his highest score, and hit five centuries in first-class cricket, his batting average was almost 60, and his one-day batting average exceeded 40.
described his inclusion in the squad, praising his "great form with the bat and [he] has had some terrific performances with the ball". In an interview with Australian newspaper The Age, White professed his relief at returning to the international scene, stating that "I don't really care if I get picked as a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder, or just as a bat or bowler, as long as I get picked." An international Twenty20 against England saw White rewarded with a man of the match award for his 40* off 20 balls, and 1/11 with the ball in hand. In his next batting innings, White scored 45 runs including 3 sixes against New Zealand, leading team-mate Andrew Symonds
to praise his ability to strike the cricket ball, saying that "when you've got that going on at the other end, it makes it a lot easier for me". Despite his excellent form with the bat, White's bowling was proving to be mostly ineffective. For this reason, as well as the improved form of Brad Hodge and the selection of Brad Hogg and Shane Watson for their ability with the ball, he was dropped for the finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series and left out of the World Cup squad.
Despite not being named in the World Cup squad, White played all three ODIs in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against New Zealand. This was because some of the senior players were rested ahead of the World Cup, or sustained injuries. Stand-in captain Michael Hussey only called upon him to bowl three overs during the series, all in the second match, in which he was expensive, conceding almost 10 runs an over. He hit a quick 42* in that match, scoring six boundaries including 3 sixes. He was less impressive with the bat in the other two matches, making 13 on both occasions.
was the only other player to pass 50. White passed 1,000 runs in the County Championship for the second time, and his batting average topped 70 as Somerset won promotion from Division Two, a turnaround from the previous season when they had finished bottom of the division, 'winning' the competition's wooden spoon. The season also saw a slight improvement in White's bowling, his 20 first-class wickets coming at an average of 32.75, his best in a domestic season. Despite his impressive season, due to English counties only being allowed one overseas player for the 2008 season, White did not see his contract with the county renewed, Somerset preferring to keep captain Justin Langer. Somerset's Director of Cricket, Brian Rose
paid tribute to White, saying "It was a difficult choice with the new ruling about only one overseas player because Cameron has also done tremendous things for us."
It was on the back of this form that White once again toured Pakistan with the Australia A squad, but he finished the series with just two wickets, both coming in the first-class matches, and a handful of runs. Two months into the Australian domestic season, White was forced to retire hurt after colliding with Queensland bowler Lee Carseldine
, and after the match it was revealed he'd fractured his foot. He'd been carrying the injury since the start of the season, and the collision led to a full break, putting White out for six weeks. White conceded that the injury would almost certainly rule out any chance he had of playing for the national team that summer. He returned in early January, playing the last three matches of the Twenty20 tournament, including the final which Victoria won by 32 runs, although White only managed to make one run off eight balls. For the second season in a row, White was named as captain of the Prime Minister's XI, and claimed two Sri Lankan wickets in the 50-over contest. White led Victoria to both Pura Cup and Ford Ranger Cup finals in 2007–08, but they lost both, to New South Wales and Tasmania respectively.
The auction for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League
(IPL) saw the majority of the world's cricketing talent up for sale in a very public forum. For the thirteen Australians on offer, this was in sharp contrast to the secrecy which surrounded the value of national contracts. White was finally sold for $500,000 to the Royal Challengers Bangalore
, $50,000 more than Shane Warne
fetched, and more again than Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. The apparent discrepancy was in part due to the possibility that international involvement could rule Australia's Test players out of much, if not all of the first two years of the tournament. Rahul Dravid
, Bangalore's 'icon' player, described White as an exciting addition, saying "White is a very exciting Twenty20 player and his domestic record [with two Twenty20 hundreds] in Australia is phenomenal." Despite his price, White had a largely disappointing time in his only IPL season. He finished the tournament with 114 runs, over 500 less than fellow Australian and the competition's leading run-scorer Shaun Marsh
.
. He scored 10 runs off 6 balls in a rain-reduced 11-over Twenty20 contest, and in a 50-over tour match against University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI, made 34 but remained wicket-less in his eight overs with the ball. By this stage in his career, White was generally considered a middle-order batsman who bowled a bit, but Australia captain Ponting saw his place in the team as that of the front-line spinner. "White's obviously been picked as the spinner on this tour. We just need to keep exposing him to different situations and putting him under a bit more pressure. Hopefully he plays a big role for us during the series." Despite Ponting's comments, he used White as the fourth-change bowler in the first ODI, bringing the slow left-arm spin of Michael Clarke
on first. White conceded 32 runs in his six overs without a breakthrough, and did not bowl at all in the second match, as Clarke claimed the man of the match award for his half-century and three wickets. Although White scored 40* at quicker than a run a ball, the return of Andrew Symonds
for the last three ODIs left White out of the team again.
It was the absence of Symonds, sent home from the 2008–09 series against Bangladesh for skipping a team meeting to go fishing, that gave White another opportunity in the ODI team. Although stand-in captain Clarke mirrored the action of Ponting by bringing himself on before the Victoria captain, White claimed a career-best three wickets for five runs off the 10 balls he bowled. After the match, White admitted he had to prove he could deal with the pressures of international cricket, but was upbeat, saying "it was nice to get a few wickets but it would have been nice to get a few overs under the belt as well." He claimed two more wickets in the second match and, after not being required to bowl in the third, finished the series with an average under 10.
He was selected as captain of the Australia A team to compete against New Zealand A and India A in a tri-series hosted by India. The captaincy gave White an opportunity to give himself plenty of overs, in total he bowled over 30 overs, claiming eight wickets in the competition, second only to Piyush Chawla
. He displayed his all-round ability by finishing with the fifth highest batting average and leading his team to the final, in which they beat India A by 156 runs.
When Symonds was dropped from the tour of India due to disciplinary issues, Greg Shipperd
, White's coach at Victoria, claimed that White should have been called up rather than Watson, claiming that the leg-spinner "looked ideal to fill the aggressive role vacated by Symonds - he is a great counter-puncher". When fellow Victorian leg-spinner Bryce McGain
left the tour injured, White got the call-up to the Test squad that Shipperd felt he deserved, although he was nominally selected as a specialist bowler. After Jason Krejza
, the other spinner on the tour, conceded 199 runs for no wickets in a match against the Board President's XI, White was considered the safer option, although Ponting publicly endorsed Krejza after his wicket-less match. Despite Ponting's apparent leanings, White was preferred, and became the 402nd Australian to receive his Test cap. He was selected to bat at number eight, usually a specialist bowler's position, despite generally playing first-class cricket as a batsman.
At the end of the first Test, in which White took the solitary wicket of Sachin Tendulkar
, Ponting said "He's come along in leaps and bounds in his bowling. He's probably exceeded my expectations with what he's done, although he did not take the wickets." White improved his return in the second Test, claiming three wickets, but only took one more in the last two matches. Although Ponting extolled White in public, he once again often opted to use the part-time spin of Clarke before and more frequently than White throughout the series. White's five wickets on the tour came at a bowling average of almost 70, and with Symonds named in Test squad to face New Zealand, there was no place in the squad for White.
His lack of involvement with the Test squad allowed him to return to Victoria to lead them in a losing cause in the Ford Ranger Cup final, a narrow 12 run loss to Queensland. Draws against Tasmania and Queensland, set up another Queensland – Victoria final, this time in the Sheffield Shield (formerly the Pura Cup). White was named as man of the match as he led his team to their first championship since 2003–04, scoring 135 and 61 as Queensland were out-played comprehensively.
White remained in Australia's Twenty20 team for their two matches in South Africa, but was not involved in their ODI matches, and subsequently was not named as part of their squad for the ICC World Twenty20
. However, after Symonds was sent home from the tournament due to 'an alcohol-related incident', White was called-up as his replacement. Australia were knocked out in the group-stage of the competition with White unused in their two matches, Cricinfos Brydon Coverdale lambasting Australia's belief that "the players who carry them in Test and 50-over cricket can do the same in three-hour games". White returned to Australia to captain the A team against Pakistan and showed consistency with the bat, culminating in 73* in the Twenty20 match.
squad, White's role in the team was now that of a batsman. In the rain-abandoned Twenty20 in England, he made his best Twenty20 International score of 55, and was the only player to cope with the poor conditions on a two-paced pitch. In the ODI series, White saw himself promoted to number three in the absence of Ponting, and responded with scores of 53 and 42 in the first two matches, before making his maiden international century in the third. His 124-ball 105 saw him named man of the match in his last match before Ponting's return which would see him drop back down the batting order. He played the remaining four matches of the series at number six, but finished the tour as Australia's leading run-scorer in ODIs.
White was ever-present in Australia's triumph in the 2009 Champions Trophy, saving his best performance for the final where, having being promoted to number four, he scored a patient 62 against New Zealand to help Australia recover from 6/2 to ease to a six wicket victory. The following ODI series against India saw White remain at number four due to injuries to Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, and he made three half-centuries including a remarkable 57 off 33 balls including 5 sixes. After being in and out of the Australian set-up earlier in his career, White claimed "I think my best position is up around where I have been batting", a statement backed up by an average of 41.71 in his 18 appearances since his call-up to face England earlier that year. The higher responsibility placed on White as a batsman was balanced by a much lower responsibility with the ball; across the whole of the 2009 season, he only bowled three balls in One Day International cricket.
Upon the retirement of Ricky Ponting from international Twenty20 cricket, there were some calls for White to be promoted to captain the side, led by his Victoria coach Greg Shipperd. Despite these calls, White backed favourite the incumbent vice-captain Michael Clarke to set-up for the role. White was eventually named as Clarke's vice-captain, although worries about Clarke's injury-prone back and his struggles with form in Twenty20 resulted in continued calls for White to take over, though White again backed Clarke, claiming "Michael's going to do a great job and I'll just look forward to working with him. I'm still really young in the [Australia] job as well and very inexperienced at this level, so I think I can learn a lot off him."
The return of Clarke to the ODI team for the Pakistan series also saw White move down the order again, although batting at number five, he made his second international century in the first match, scoring 105 from 88 balls to help drive Australia to victory. White continued to perform well with the bat in the series, making a half-century in the second match and making decent totals in a number of the other games as Australia swept the series 5–0.
for US$1.1 million. The 2nd highest paid Australian, behind David Hussey
. He was named Vice Captain of the Deccan Chargers, with Kumar Sangakkara
captain
of the side.
retired from Twenty20 International
, White was named captain for the 2-match Twenty20 International
series against England after the 2010-11 Ashes Series.
White was then named vice-captain to Clarke for the following 7-match One Day Series against England. When Clarke was rested for the last ODI, White was named captain of the side. He is the first Victorian since Shane Warne
to captain the Australia ODI Team.
On the same day Michael Clarke
was announced as captain, of the Test
& ODI teams, Cameron White was announced as the permanent Twenty20
Captain, with Shane Watson
vice captain in all formats.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and current Australian Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
captain. A powerful middle order batsman and right-arm leg-spin bowler, White made his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut as a teenager in the 2000–01 season for the Victorian Bushrangers
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
as a bowling all-rounder. Early comparisons with Victoria team-mate Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
faded as White took on a role closer to that of Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds is a former Australian cricket team all-rounder. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling....
, a batsman who bowled occasionally.
In 2003–04, he became Victoria's youngest ever captain at the age of 20 when he took over leadership of their one-day side, and the first-class captaincy followed the season after. International recognition came for the first time in 2005, but White found himself in and out of the side as the selectors and national captain Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
looked for White to improve his bowling to play as a front-line spinner. Two successful winters with English county side Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
helped to propel White back into the selectors' minds. After a couple of further unfruitful international spells, including four Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 2008, White finally secured a regular place in the one-day squads after a string of good performances in 2009.
Early career
White began his cricket career working his way through the youth structure at Victoria, playing in the Commonwealth Bank Under-17, and later Under-19, Championship series. He showed his prowess with both bat and ball during these competitions, claiming a century, two half-centuries and 17 wickets in the ten matches he played over two seasons. He tended to bat as part of the middle orderBatting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
and bowl as third or fourth change. His first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut came in March 2001, aged 17, against New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
. Batting at number nine, White scored 11 runs in his only batting innings of the match, and claimed 4/654/65: White claimed four wickets and 65 runs were scored while he was bowling. coming on as third change bowler. He made one further first-class appearance that season before joining up with the Australia Under-19 cricket team
Australian U-19 cricket team
The Australian Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 test matches since 1978. Former captains include Stuart Law, Damien Martyn, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz and Cameron White who have all gone on to play international cricket for Australia....
for two youth Tests against Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan U-19 cricket team
The Sri Lankan Under-19 cricket team is the cricket team that represents Sri Lanka in International Under-19 Cricket. It consists of school-aged cricketers.-2011 Under-19 squad:The squad selected for the 2011 Under-19 Cricket team....
.
He captained the Australia Cricket Academy side that toured New Zealand, beating New Zealand Academy 3–1 in a four-match one-day series, after a pair of draws in two three-day matches. Soon after, he made his List A debut for Victoria, but the match was rained off after 42.1 overs without White taking any part in the match. White received his first senior man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award a few days later for his two wickets and score of 91 batting at number seven during the Pura Cup
Pura Cup
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
match against South Australia. He was named as captain of the Australia Under-19 squad to compete in the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and led his team to victory in the competition, beating South Africa
South African U-19 cricket team
The South African Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 test matches since 1995. International players to have represented the team include Wayne Parnell, Neil McKenzie, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini and Craig Kieswetter, who now plays for England.The Under-19...
by seven wickets in the final. White finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 423 runs, with two of the other top-four batsmen also being Australian.
Despite his success with the bat during the Under-19 World Cup, Victoria continued to use White as a bowling all-rounder, a decision that seemed to be justified in the 2002–03 season when White passed 50 just once in his 13 first-class innings and claimed 28 wickets. In his last match of the season, he claimed his maiden five and ten-wicket hauls, taking 6/66 in the first-innings against Western Australia and 4/70 in the second-innings to help Victoria to a 10 wicket victory.
Youngest ever captain
Following a season which had seen Darren BerryDarren Berry
Darren Shane Berry is a former Australian cricketer who was known for his sharp skills as a wicketkeeper with Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and ING Cup domestic competitions...
and Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
share the captaincy of Victoria's ING Cup
ING Cup
The Australian domestic one-day cricket tournament, currently known as the Ryobi One Day Cup is the premier domestic limited overs cricket competition in Australia. The competition includes the six first-class cricket teams in Australia, as well as formerly including the Canberra Comets and the...
side, the Victoria selectors appointed White as the captain for the 2003–04 season. Aged only 20, White became the youngest player to captain the Victoria state side in its 152-year history to that point. His coach, David Hookes
David Hookes
David William Hookes was an Australian cricketer, broadcaster and coach of the Victorian cricket team. An aggressive left-handed batsman, Hookes usually batted in the middle order...
said that "White has shown at a young age a successful understanding of captaining a team". The decision was supported by the reports that during the Under-19 World Cup, he captained the side with "flair, control and maturity far beyond his years". White was also called upon to captain the first-class side early in the 2003–04 season, after regular captain Berry broke his finger during a practice match. After a win and a loss while captaining the ING Cup side, White was named man of the match on his debut as Pura Cup captain, taking six wickets to lead Victoria to a five wicket victory over Queensland.
White was given his first taste of international cricket in December 2003. Having taken four Indian wickets during a tour match for Victoria, White was selected to play for Australia A
Australia A cricket team
The Australia A cricket team is a cricket team representing Australia and is the second team of the Australian cricket team. They have also played far more one-day than first-class matches; indeed they have played only three first-class games against equivalent A sides, against South Africa A in...
against the same opposition later in the tour. Batting at number six in an Australian side that also included Victoria team-mate Brad Hodge
Brad Hodge
Bradley John Hodge is an Australian and Victorian cricketer. He attended St Bede's College in Mentone, Victoria. He is a right hand batsman who bats in the middle order, as well as a part time right arm off spin bowler....
, and was captained by Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
, White made little impression on the Indians, making just 20 runs in his two innings and taking no wickets. White retained his place in the A side to face Zimbabwe in two 50-over contests, claiming two wickets.
The 2003–04 season saw White's batting improve markedly in first-class cricket but he tore some ligaments in his right leg, therefore ending his 2003-04 season. A return of five half-centuries in eighteen innings saw his season average finish in excess of 30 for the first time. He also claimed 30 wickets in the season, the most in a single season in his career to date, although his average suffered compared with the previous season, rising to over 35. A couple of cameo innings also indicated what was to come, 58 runs off 65 balls against Western Australia, and 75 runs off 97 balls against South Australia, an innings that included 7 fours and 3 sixes, showcased the strengths that would later see White shine in the shorter Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
format of the game.
These improvements in White's game, and an injury to Stuart MacGill
Stuart MacGill
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill is a former right-arm leg spin bowler of the Australian cricket team, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Somerset...
, saw White named as part of the 13-man Australia Test squad to tour Zimbabwe. With the Australia selectors keen to take two spinners on the tour, MacGill's injury allowed them to select White "with a view to the future." A tour match against Zimbabwe A brought a wicket for White, but he was denied the chance of making his Test debut when the two-match series was called off due to disputes between the Zimbabwe cricket board and their rebel players. White described the decision as a missed opportunity "to see how everything went and how an international Test match is played".
The 2003–04 season had been capped by victory in the Pura Cup
Pura Cup
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
following a 321 victory over Queensland in the final, in which White made a half-century and claimed five of the oppositions wickets. Victoria captain Berry retired from professional cricket after the triumph, and White was named as his replacement for 2004–05. White was pleased with the appointment, saying that the captaincy "brings out the best in my game and the extra responsibility is good for me". In December 2004, White made his maiden first-class century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
, making 119 after Victoria were forced to follow-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
against Queensland. His partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
of 205 with Ian Harvey
Ian Harvey
Ian Joseph Harvey is an Australian cricketer. He is an all-rounder. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2004.-Australian career:...
, a record seventh-wicket partnership for Victoria, and 152 from opener Jason Arnberger
Jason Arnberger
Jason Lee Arnberger is an Australian first-class cricketer who played for the Victorian Bushrangers and New South Wales Blues in Australian domestic cricket. He was a right-handed opening batsman...
helped Victoria recover to a second-innings total of 508/8 declared
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
. A fine bowling performance then saw Queensland bowled out for just 169, capping a "remarkable fightback" by Victoria.
International breakthrough
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
instead. Mid-way through the 2004–05 season, White played four matches for Australia A against the touring West Indians and Pakistanis. Three 50-over matches brought him two half-centuries and a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, and his first experience of Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket resulted in an unbeaten
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
58 with a strike rate over 150. Victoria did not qualify for either Pura Cup or ING Cup finals, but White's improvement was again significant; his first-class averages remained roughly the same as in the previous season, but he more than doubled his previous best season batting average in one-day cricket, passing 30 in the format.
After his impressive form for Australia A during January 2005, White was selected as part of the Australia A side to tour Pakistan in September that year. After claiming four wickets, and averaging 35.50 with the bat in the 2 four-day matches, White shone in the subsequent one-day games. Not required to bat in the first, he then scored 106 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in the second and 59 not out in the third, also claiming a tail-end wicket. Having now demonstrated his ability as a big-hitting all-rounder, White was selected to make his international debut during the 2005 ICC Super Series against the ICC World XI. Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
, captaining the World XI team, said that his batsmen would target the young leg-spinner, but Australia captain Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
said he expected White to bowl, after he'd "handled things well in the Victoria game against them". He was named as supersub in the first two matches, being on field only during the ICC World XI innings, therefore being unable to bat. He did not bowl in the first match, and only bowled three wicket-less overs in the second. Despite controversy regarding the official status of the matches, these two appearances as supersub signified White's first two One Day International (ODI) appearances. He started the third match, but as Australia closed their innings on 293/5, White was again not required to bat, nor did he bowl in the following ICC World XI innings.
White was named as a bowling supersub again for the first ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy
Chappell-Hadlee Trophy
The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in cricket is an annual ODI series between Australia and New Zealand. It is named after legendary cricketing families from the two countries, the Chappell brothers of Australia and Walter Hadlee and his three sons, , of New Zealand.The trophy is currently held by...
, replacing Katich at the start of the New Zealand innings. He bowled one wicket-less over, conceding four runs. After missing out on the second match, White returned for the third, getting the opportunity to bat for the first time. He was dismissed for a golden duck, falling to Chris Martin
Chris Martin (cricketer)
Christopher Stewart "Chris" Martin is a New Zealand cricketer. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, Martin now plays provincial cricket for Auckland, having formerly played for the Canterbury Wizards...
first ball. In the New Zealand innings, he claimed his first senior international wicket, bowling
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
Hamish Marshall
Hamish Marshall
Hamish John Hamilton Marshall is a New Zealand cricketer. He is the identical twin brother of James Marshall. Hamish and James became the second pair of twins to play Test cricket, and are the first identical pair.Marshall, a middle-order batsman, made his Test debut against South Africa in...
.
International contract not renewed
2005–06 was the first season that Twenty20 cricket was played domestically in Australia, and White with his Victoria team were the quickest to adapt to the new format. White earnt a man of the match award in his first match in the tournament, scoring 45 runs off 32 balls and claiming a single wicket. Two wickets followed in the second match, and a second victory granted Victoria a place in the final. Facing New South Wales in the final, White added 46 off 16 balls, scoring at almost three runs a ball. He claimed 3/8 in the following innings, helping to restrict New South Wales to 140, giving Victoria the championship title. White finished the tournament with 99 runs, second only to Brad HodgeBrad Hodge
Bradley John Hodge is an Australian and Victorian cricketer. He attended St Bede's College in Mentone, Victoria. He is a right hand batsman who bats in the middle order, as well as a part time right arm off spin bowler....
, and 6 wickets, trailing only Shane Harwood
Shane Harwood
Shane Michael Harwood is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Victorian Bushrangers. He bowls right-arm fast-medium and has represented Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals....
, both Victoria team-mates.
In April 2006, White joined up with English county side Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
for the first match of the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. After Somerset were forced to follow-on by Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
, White came in at number five and scored 172 runs off 228 balls before finally being caught off the bowling of former Victoria team-mate Ian Harvey. Despite this innings, Somerset only managed a team total of 287, and lost the match by an innings and seven runs. Two weeks later, on 1 May, Cricket Australia announced that along with James Hopes
James Hopes
James Redfern Hopes is an Australian cricketer. Hopes plays domestic cricket for Queensland and for Delhi Dare Devils in the Indian Premier League, he has represented Australia in One Day International and Twenty20 cricket.A medium pacer whose aggressive batting has been shuffled around the...
and Mick Lewis
Mick Lewis
Michael Llewellyn "Mick" Lewis is an Australian cricketer.-Grade career and state career:Born in Greensborough, Victoria, Lewis was a grade cricketer who played for Northcote and the Victorian Bushrangers gave him his first-class debut in the 1999/2000 season...
, Cameron White's national contract would not be renewed for the next 12 months. When Somerset captain Ian Blackwell
Ian Blackwell
Ian David Blackwell is an English cricketer. A left-arm orthodox spinner and powerful middle-order batsman, he has played for England in one-day and Test sides, and plays county cricket for Durham, having left Somerset at the end of the 2008 season.-Career:Blackwell was called up for the England...
suffered a shoulder injury that put him out of the game for three months, White was named as his replacement. As with Australia Under-19s and Victoria, the added responsibility seemed to improve his game. A score of 109*
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
at the close of his team's innings. against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
in the 50-over Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was followed immediately by 131* in the County Championship against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, a half-century against the touring Sri Lankans and then a second-innings 108 against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
, all made in the first half of June.
The Twenty20 Cup
Twenty20 Cup
The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh county clubs.In 2010, it has been replaced by Friends Provident t20 as the domestic Twenty20 competition.-History:...
gave White another chance to display his skills in the shortest format of the game. White was joined at Somerset by fellow Australian Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
for the tournament, and the pair shone in Somerset's opening match of the competition. Opening the innings, Langer made 90 runs off 46 balls, but was outscored and outpaced by White's 116*, scored at more than two runs a ball. The century was White's first in Twenty20 cricket, and he capped off his performance by claiming Gloucestershire's tenth wicket to wrap up a 117 run victory. Just under two weeks later, White surpassed this score, at the time the joint highest made in Twenty20 cricket, with 141* against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
. His runs, made off 70 balls, set a new world record Twenty20 total that would stand for almost two years before being beaten by Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum
Brendon Barrie McCullum is a New Zealand international cricketer, who plays for the Otago Volts at provincial level. He is a wicket-keeper, as well as an aggressive batsman who opens in One-day Internationals and is known for his fast scoring rate...
. He finished the competition with the leading batting average, and his 403 runs trailed only team-mate Langer's 464 and Leicestershire batsman Hylton Ackerman
Hylton Ackerman
Hylton Michael Ackerman was a South African first class cricketer who played for Western Province in the 1970s.He attended Dale College Boy's High School where he was headboy. His son, Hylton D...
's 409.
In August, with Somerset slumping, White scored back-to-back fourth-innings centuries in the County Championship, but neither could rescue his side from defeat. First, he made 111 against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
, and then under a week later, he made the highest individual score in the fourth-innings of a first-class match by remaining 260 not out at the close of Somerset's innings as Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
beat them to record their first home win in four years. Despite Somerset finishing bottom of Division Two of the County Championship, White had his most successful season of cricket in his career to that point. Having made his highest score, and hit five centuries in first-class cricket, his batting average was almost 60, and his one-day batting average exceeded 40.
One Day International cricket 2006–07
A strong start to the 2006–07 Australian domestic season, exemplified by 150* against Tasmania in the Pura Cup and 126* against New South Wales in the Ford Ranger Cup (previously ING Cup) saw White recalled to the Australia one-day squad. Chief of selectors, Andrew HilditchAndrew Hilditch
Andrew Mark Jefferson Hilditch is a former Australian cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 8 ODIs from 1979 to 1985. He played for New South Wales from 1977 to 1981 and for South Australia from 1982 to 1992...
described his inclusion in the squad, praising his "great form with the bat and [he] has had some terrific performances with the ball". In an interview with Australian newspaper The Age, White professed his relief at returning to the international scene, stating that "I don't really care if I get picked as a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder, or just as a bat or bowler, as long as I get picked." An international Twenty20 against England saw White rewarded with a man of the match award for his 40* off 20 balls, and 1/11 with the ball in hand. In his next batting innings, White scored 45 runs including 3 sixes against New Zealand, leading team-mate Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds is a former Australian cricket team all-rounder. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling....
to praise his ability to strike the cricket ball, saying that "when you've got that going on at the other end, it makes it a lot easier for me". Despite his excellent form with the bat, White's bowling was proving to be mostly ineffective. For this reason, as well as the improved form of Brad Hodge and the selection of Brad Hogg and Shane Watson for their ability with the ball, he was dropped for the finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series and left out of the World Cup squad.
Despite not being named in the World Cup squad, White played all three ODIs in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against New Zealand. This was because some of the senior players were rested ahead of the World Cup, or sustained injuries. Stand-in captain Michael Hussey only called upon him to bowl three overs during the series, all in the second match, in which he was expensive, conceding almost 10 runs an over. He hit a quick 42* in that match, scoring six boundaries including 3 sixes. He was less impressive with the bat in the other two matches, making 13 on both occasions.
Another domestic year
White returned to the Victoria side in time to captain his team in the Ford Ranger Cup final, which they lost to Queensland by 21 runs. Two Pura Cup matches brought a couple of wickets and 96 runs, and then a month's break before his first match back in England, where he returned to Somerset for a second season. He was amongst the runs immediately, one of eight centurions as Somerset played Middlesex. Fellow Australian Langer, also returning to Somerset made 315, and White added 114 as Somerset eventually reached 850/7 declared. White scored three more half-centuries before the month was out, and in the first match of May, was one of four Australians to reach three figures as Somerset hosted Derybshire. Against Gloucestershire, he again showed his ability to remain calm and keep scoring even as those around him fell, making 241 in a Somerset first-innings in which James HildrethJames Hildreth
James Charles Hildreth is an English cricketer who plays for Somerset County Cricket Club. He attended Millfield School, Somerset. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. Hildreth represented England at all youth levels including the 2003-04 Under-19 World cup...
was the only other player to pass 50. White passed 1,000 runs in the County Championship for the second time, and his batting average topped 70 as Somerset won promotion from Division Two, a turnaround from the previous season when they had finished bottom of the division, 'winning' the competition's wooden spoon. The season also saw a slight improvement in White's bowling, his 20 first-class wickets coming at an average of 32.75, his best in a domestic season. Despite his impressive season, due to English counties only being allowed one overseas player for the 2008 season, White did not see his contract with the county renewed, Somerset preferring to keep captain Justin Langer. Somerset's Director of Cricket, Brian Rose
Brian Rose (cricketer)
Brian Charles Rose is an English former cricketer, who played in nine Tests and two ODIs for England from 1977 to 1981.-Life and career:...
paid tribute to White, saying "It was a difficult choice with the new ruling about only one overseas player because Cameron has also done tremendous things for us."
Lee Carseldine
Lee Andrew Carseldine is a professional Australian cricketer who currently plays for Queensland and also for the IPL team Rajasthan Royals....
, and after the match it was revealed he'd fractured his foot. He'd been carrying the injury since the start of the season, and the collision led to a full break, putting White out for six weeks. White conceded that the injury would almost certainly rule out any chance he had of playing for the national team that summer. He returned in early January, playing the last three matches of the Twenty20 tournament, including the final which Victoria won by 32 runs, although White only managed to make one run off eight balls. For the second season in a row, White was named as captain of the Prime Minister's XI, and claimed two Sri Lankan wickets in the 50-over contest. White led Victoria to both Pura Cup and Ford Ranger Cup finals in 2007–08, but they lost both, to New South Wales and Tasmania respectively.
The auction for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
(IPL) saw the majority of the world's cricketing talent up for sale in a very public forum. For the thirteen Australians on offer, this was in sharp contrast to the secrecy which surrounded the value of national contracts. White was finally sold for $500,000 to the Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...
, $50,000 more than Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
fetched, and more again than Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. The apparent discrepancy was in part due to the possibility that international involvement could rule Australia's Test players out of much, if not all of the first two years of the tournament. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
, Bangalore's 'icon' player, described White as an exciting addition, saying "White is a very exciting Twenty20 player and his domestic record [with two Twenty20 hundreds] in Australia is phenomenal." Despite his price, White had a largely disappointing time in his only IPL season. He finished the tournament with 114 runs, over 500 less than fellow Australian and the competition's leading run-scorer Shaun Marsh
Shaun Marsh
Shaun Edward Marsh is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Western Warriors in Australian domestic cricket and has represented Australia at One Day International and Twenty20 International levels...
.
On the international fringes
White was recalled to the Australian ODI and Twenty20 squads for the 2008 tour of the West IndiesAustralian cricket team in the West Indies in 2008
The Australian cricket team toured the West Indies between 16 May, 2008 and 6 July 2008. Australia won two of three Test matches played and all five One-day Internationals. The West Indies won the single Twenty20 International game....
. He scored 10 runs off 6 balls in a rain-reduced 11-over Twenty20 contest, and in a 50-over tour match against University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI, made 34 but remained wicket-less in his eight overs with the ball. By this stage in his career, White was generally considered a middle-order batsman who bowled a bit, but Australia captain Ponting saw his place in the team as that of the front-line spinner. "White's obviously been picked as the spinner on this tour. We just need to keep exposing him to different situations and putting him under a bit more pressure. Hopefully he plays a big role for us during the series." Despite Ponting's comments, he used White as the fourth-change bowler in the first ODI, bringing the slow left-arm spin of Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (cricketer)
Michael John Clarke is an Australian cricketer. He was appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams on 30 March 2011. Nicknamed 'Pup', he is a right-handed batsman, and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler...
on first. White conceded 32 runs in his six overs without a breakthrough, and did not bowl at all in the second match, as Clarke claimed the man of the match award for his half-century and three wickets. Although White scored 40* at quicker than a run a ball, the return of Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds is a former Australian cricket team all-rounder. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling....
for the last three ODIs left White out of the team again.
He was selected as captain of the Australia A team to compete against New Zealand A and India A in a tri-series hosted by India. The captaincy gave White an opportunity to give himself plenty of overs, in total he bowled over 30 overs, claiming eight wickets in the competition, second only to Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla
Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format...
. He displayed his all-round ability by finishing with the fifth highest batting average and leading his team to the final, in which they beat India A by 156 runs.
When Symonds was dropped from the tour of India due to disciplinary issues, Greg Shipperd
Greg Shipperd
Gregory Shipperd is an Australian first-class cricketer who is the current coach of the Delhi DareDevils and Victorian Bushrangers...
, White's coach at Victoria, claimed that White should have been called up rather than Watson, claiming that the leg-spinner "looked ideal to fill the aggressive role vacated by Symonds - he is a great counter-puncher". When fellow Victorian leg-spinner Bryce McGain
Bryce McGain
Bryce Edward McGain is a professional Australian cricketer who currently plays for Victoria. McGain made his first-class debut in 2002 against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, due to other Victorian spinners—Shane Warne and Cameron White—he was unable to hold down a place in...
left the tour injured, White got the call-up to the Test squad that Shipperd felt he deserved, although he was nominally selected as a specialist bowler. After Jason Krejza
Jason Krejza
Jason John Krejza is an Australian cricketer. He also plays for the Tasmanian Tigers and Leicestershire. Krejza's father was a association football player from Czechoslovakia and his mother was born in Poland...
, the other spinner on the tour, conceded 199 runs for no wickets in a match against the Board President's XI, White was considered the safer option, although Ponting publicly endorsed Krejza after his wicket-less match. Despite Ponting's apparent leanings, White was preferred, and became the 402nd Australian to receive his Test cap. He was selected to bat at number eight, usually a specialist bowler's position, despite generally playing first-class cricket as a batsman.
At the end of the first Test, in which White took the solitary wicket of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, Ponting said "He's come along in leaps and bounds in his bowling. He's probably exceeded my expectations with what he's done, although he did not take the wickets." White improved his return in the second Test, claiming three wickets, but only took one more in the last two matches. Although Ponting extolled White in public, he once again often opted to use the part-time spin of Clarke before and more frequently than White throughout the series. White's five wickets on the tour came at a bowling average of almost 70, and with Symonds named in Test squad to face New Zealand, there was no place in the squad for White.
One-day specialist
Although not included in the Test squads to face either New Zealand or South Africa, White was named in the ODI and Twenty20 squads to face South Africa at home, and professed "it was a good feeling to know you are still in the mix". White played in a more familiar role in the Twenty20s, batting in the middle-order, and after a disappointing 7 in the first match, made 40* off 18 in the second to push Australia's total up beyond South Africa's reach. He had a steady ODI series, in which he was again used as a middle-order batsman, and part-time spinner. He retained his place for the one-day series against New Zealand, but had limited involvement, making 27 runs from his two innings, though he did claim two wickets in his seven overs bowling.His lack of involvement with the Test squad allowed him to return to Victoria to lead them in a losing cause in the Ford Ranger Cup final, a narrow 12 run loss to Queensland. Draws against Tasmania and Queensland, set up another Queensland – Victoria final, this time in the Sheffield Shield (formerly the Pura Cup). White was named as man of the match as he led his team to their first championship since 2003–04, scoring 135 and 61 as Queensland were out-played comprehensively.
White remained in Australia's Twenty20 team for their two matches in South Africa, but was not involved in their ODI matches, and subsequently was not named as part of their squad for the ICC World Twenty20
ICC World Twenty20
The ICC World Twenty20 or ICC World T20 also referred to as the T20 World Cup is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council...
. However, after Symonds was sent home from the tournament due to 'an alcohol-related incident', White was called-up as his replacement. Australia were knocked out in the group-stage of the competition with White unused in their two matches, Cricinfos Brydon Coverdale lambasting Australia's belief that "the players who carry them in Test and 50-over cricket can do the same in three-hour games". White returned to Australia to captain the A team against Pakistan and showed consistency with the bat, culminating in 73* in the Twenty20 match.
Knowing his role
Named in both one-day squads for the tour of England, and in the Champions TrophyICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998 and has been played every two years since, changing its name to the Champions Trophy in 2002...
squad, White's role in the team was now that of a batsman. In the rain-abandoned Twenty20 in England, he made his best Twenty20 International score of 55, and was the only player to cope with the poor conditions on a two-paced pitch. In the ODI series, White saw himself promoted to number three in the absence of Ponting, and responded with scores of 53 and 42 in the first two matches, before making his maiden international century in the third. His 124-ball 105 saw him named man of the match in his last match before Ponting's return which would see him drop back down the batting order. He played the remaining four matches of the series at number six, but finished the tour as Australia's leading run-scorer in ODIs.
White was ever-present in Australia's triumph in the 2009 Champions Trophy, saving his best performance for the final where, having being promoted to number four, he scored a patient 62 against New Zealand to help Australia recover from 6/2 to ease to a six wicket victory. The following ODI series against India saw White remain at number four due to injuries to Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, and he made three half-centuries including a remarkable 57 off 33 balls including 5 sixes. After being in and out of the Australian set-up earlier in his career, White claimed "I think my best position is up around where I have been batting", a statement backed up by an average of 41.71 in his 18 appearances since his call-up to face England earlier that year. The higher responsibility placed on White as a batsman was balanced by a much lower responsibility with the ball; across the whole of the 2009 season, he only bowled three balls in One Day International cricket.
Upon the retirement of Ricky Ponting from international Twenty20 cricket, there were some calls for White to be promoted to captain the side, led by his Victoria coach Greg Shipperd. Despite these calls, White backed favourite the incumbent vice-captain Michael Clarke to set-up for the role. White was eventually named as Clarke's vice-captain, although worries about Clarke's injury-prone back and his struggles with form in Twenty20 resulted in continued calls for White to take over, though White again backed Clarke, claiming "Michael's going to do a great job and I'll just look forward to working with him. I'm still really young in the [Australia] job as well and very inexperienced at this level, so I think I can learn a lot off him."
The return of Clarke to the ODI team for the Pakistan series also saw White move down the order again, although batting at number five, he made his second international century in the first match, scoring 105 from 88 balls to help drive Australia to victory. White continued to perform well with the bat in the series, making a half-century in the second match and making decent totals in a number of the other games as Australia swept the series 5–0.
2011
In the fourth season, White was bought by Deccan ChargersDeccan Chargers
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers known in short as DC or 'Chargers' is a cricket franchise that represents the city of Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League...
for US$1.1 million. The 2nd highest paid Australian, behind David Hussey
David Hussey
David John Hussey is an Australian cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batsman and can also bowl right-arm offbreaks. He is the younger brother of Australian Test cricketer Michael Hussey.-Australian domestic career:...
. He was named Vice Captain of the Deccan Chargers, with Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of the side.
Captain of Australia
When Michael ClarkeMichael Clarke (cricketer)
Michael John Clarke is an Australian cricketer. He was appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams on 30 March 2011. Nicknamed 'Pup', he is a right-handed batsman, and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler...
retired from Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
, White was named captain for the 2-match Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
series against England after the 2010-11 Ashes Series.
White was then named vice-captain to Clarke for the following 7-match One Day Series against England. When Clarke was rested for the last ODI, White was named captain of the side. He is the first Victorian since Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
to captain the Australia ODI Team.
On the same day Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (cricketer)
Michael John Clarke is an Australian cricketer. He was appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams on 30 March 2011. Nicknamed 'Pup', he is a right-handed batsman, and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler...
was announced as captain, of the Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
& ODI teams, Cameron White was announced as the permanent Twenty20
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
Captain, with Shane Watson
Shane Watson
Shane Robert Watson is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler. He mainly bats as an opener in international cricket, although he does not do so domestically....
vice captain in all formats.
International centuries and half-centuries
Key- * denotes that he remained not outNot outIn cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
. - ♠ denotes that he was the captain of the Australian team in that match.
- Pos. denotes his position in the batting order.
- Inn. denotes the number of innings in the match.
- S/R denotes strike rate.
- H/A/N denotes whether the venue is home (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), away (opposition's home) or neutral. - Lost denotes that the match was lost by Australia.
- Won denotes that the match was won by Australia.
- Centuries in bold.
One Day Internationals
| No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | S/R | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 74.64 | The Oval The Oval The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Away | Won | |||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 84.67 | The Rose Bowl, Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
Away | Won | |||
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 60.78 | SuperSport Park, Centurion Centurion, Gauteng Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality... |
Neutral | Won | |||
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 75.00 | Reliance Stadium, Vadodara Vadodara Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million... |
Away | Won | |||
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 87.32 | Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Punjab Cricket Association Stadium The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium is located at Mohali, just outside the city of Chandigarh. It is popularly referred to as the Mohali Stadium. The stadium is home to the Punjab team. Punjab's second international cricket stadium has been approved by BCCI in Bathinda, Punjab. The... , Mohali Mohali Mohali is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh . It, along with Chandigarh and Panchkula, form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity... |
Away | Won | |||
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 172.72 | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | Away | Won | |||
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 119.31 | The Gabba, Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... |
Home | Won | |||
| 8 | 5 | 1 | 94.82 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... , Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
Home | Won | |||
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 80.76 | The Gabba, Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... |
Home | Won | |||
| 10 | 5 | 1 | 90.00 | Eden Park Eden Park Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable... , Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Away | Won | |||
| 11 | 4 | 2 | 87.71 | Eden Park Eden Park Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable... , Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Away | Won | |||
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 87.75 | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
Away | Lost | |||
| 13 | 5 | 1 | 181.63 | ACA-VDCA Stadium ACA-VDCA Stadium ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium , is a multi-purpose stadium in Visakhapatnam, India.-Ground Profile:... , Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was... |
Away | Lost |
Twenty20 Internationals
| No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | S/R | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 1 | 152.77 | Old Trafford, Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
Away | No result | |||
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 246.15 | AMI Stadium, Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... |
Away | Tied | |||
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 173.46 | Kensington Oval Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket... , Bridgetown Bridgetown The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael... |
Neutral | Won |