Craig White
Encyclopedia
Craig White is an English
former first-class cricket
er, and latterly cricket coach.
, but later moved back to England, his country of birth, where he became Yorkshire's
first-ever overseas signing. At the time Yorkshire still operated a policy of only employing cricketers born in Yorkshire, even though English counties could play up to two overseas players if they wished. Having played in Australia, White was not initially qualified to play for England when he returned. This led to Yorkshire listing him as an overseas player.
At the start of his career, White was an all-rounder
who batted right-handed and bowled right-arm off spin
. In his twenties, he changed his style to become a fast bowler
, after doubts were raised about the purity of his spin-bowling action.
When Raymond Illingworth became the new Chairman of Selectors for the English cricket team
in 1994, he wanted the England team to contain an all-rounder who could bat at number six, and bowl first-change. He selected his fellow Yorkshireman White for this role, much to the surprise of many media pundits and fans. By this time, White had been playing in England long enough to qualify for the national team, and he made his Test début against New Zealand
. His performances were inconsistent and he was dropped after eight matches.
In 2000, he suffered a mystery blackout, waking up to find himself in a gutter in Scarborough. The incident suddenly revitalised him as a cricketer, and his county performances earned him a recall to the England team for the series against the West Indies
. He had a successful series, contributing useful runs at numbers seven and eight, and becoming an important member of the pace-bowling attack, including dismissing Brian Lara
for his first golden duck
of his Test career. His bowling had improved to such an extent that he was capable of using reverse swing and reaching speeds of 90mph off a short run-up.
White played well on subsequent tours to the subcontinent
, with his most notable achievements being 93 against Pakistan
at Lahore
in 2000 and 121 against India
at Ahmedabad
in 2001. The latter performance was his one and only Test century. His thirtieth and final Test Match was against Australia in the Fourth Test of the 2002-03 Ashes series
. An injury to his side prevented him from playing in the Fifth Test, but he later recovered to play in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
, his last appearance for the national team.
White's Test career was distinguished by inconsistency: with the ball, he took just fourteen wickets in his first ten Tests, followed by two consecutive five-wicket draws, and then no more than a two-for in his next fourteen Tests, before finally bowing out with a dozen in the three Ashes matches against the Australians; with the bat, meanwhile, he failed on two occasions to reach double figures more than once over the course of nine innings, but nevertheless gave solid accounts of himself on the Asian subcontinent. "By the end," wrote satirist Andy Zaltzman
, "it was hard to work out if he had overachieved or underachieved with both bat and ball. Or done exactly as well as he should."
After the World Cup, bowling-related injuries began to take their toll on White, and he re-invented himself as a specialist batsman for Yorkshire. Always an aggressive shot-maker, keen to hook and drive the quicks, and hit the spinners into the deep, he added greater depth and consistency to his game. In 2004
, White was appointed captain
of Yorkshire, and in 2005
led them to promotion from Division Two of the County Championship
. However, he resigned as captain at the end of the 2006 season
, having helped them to avoid relegation.
In 265 first-class
matches, up to the end of 2006, White had scored 11,949 runs at 32.91 with a best of 186, while his 341 List A one day games brought him 8,933 runs at 26.56, with a best score of 148. He took 395 first-class wickets at an average of 28.47, with a best of eight for 55, and another 337 scalps in the one day game at 25.02, with a best of 5 for 19.
White's sister, Andrea, is married to the former Australian international cricketer Darren Lehmann
, who played together with White at Yorkshire for a number of years.
White is the President of the Royal Burton Agnes Cricket Club.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former 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...
er, and latterly cricket coach.
Life and career
White was brought up in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , 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...
, but later moved back to England, his country of birth, where he became Yorkshire's
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
first-ever overseas signing. At the time Yorkshire still operated a policy of only employing cricketers born in Yorkshire, even though English counties could play up to two overseas players if they wished. Having played in Australia, White was not initially qualified to play for England when he returned. This led to Yorkshire listing him as an overseas player.
At the start of his career, White was an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
who batted right-handed and bowled right-arm off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
. In his twenties, he changed his style to become a fast bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, after doubts were raised about the purity of his spin-bowling action.
When Raymond Illingworth became the new Chairman of Selectors for the English cricket team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
in 1994, he wanted the England team to contain an all-rounder who could bat at number six, and bowl first-change. He selected his fellow Yorkshireman White for this role, much to the surprise of many media pundits and fans. By this time, White had been playing in England long enough to qualify for the national team, and he made his Test début against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
. His performances were inconsistent and he was dropped after eight matches.
In 2000, he suffered a mystery blackout, waking up to find himself in a gutter in Scarborough. The incident suddenly revitalised him as a cricketer, and his county performances earned him a recall to the England team for the series against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
. He had a successful series, contributing useful runs at numbers seven and eight, and becoming an important member of the pace-bowling attack, including dismissing Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
for his first golden 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...
of his Test career. His bowling had improved to such an extent that he was capable of using reverse swing and reaching speeds of 90mph off a short run-up.
White played well on subsequent tours to the subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, with his most notable achievements being 93 against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
at Lahore
Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium is a cricket ground in Lahore, Pakistan. It was designed by Daghestani-born architect and engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan who also designed Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan and constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959. Following the ground's renovation for the 1996 Cricket World...
in 2000 and 121 against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
at Ahmedabad
Sardar Patel Stadium
Sardar Patel Stadium is one of the premier Cricket stadiums of India located in the Motera locality of Ahmedabad. Because of its location, the stadium is commonly called Motera Stadium to avoid confusion with another stadium of the same name in Navrangpura locality of Ahmedabad. Sardar Patel...
in 2001. The latter performance was his one and only Test century. His thirtieth and final Test Match was against Australia in the Fourth Test of the 2002-03 Ashes series
English cricket team in Australia in 2002-03
-England XI v Western Australia:-England XI v Western Australia:-England XI v Queensland:-England XI v New South Wales, 6 December 2002:New South Wales won by 6 wickets-England XI v Prime Minister's XI, 10 December 2002:...
. An injury to his side prevented him from playing in the Fifth Test, but he later recovered to play in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
, his last appearance for the national team.
White's Test career was distinguished by inconsistency: with the ball, he took just fourteen wickets in his first ten Tests, followed by two consecutive five-wicket draws, and then no more than a two-for in his next fourteen Tests, before finally bowing out with a dozen in the three Ashes matches against the Australians; with the bat, meanwhile, he failed on two occasions to reach double figures more than once over the course of nine innings, but nevertheless gave solid accounts of himself on the Asian subcontinent. "By the end," wrote satirist Andy Zaltzman
Andy Zaltzman
Andrew "Andy" Zaltzman is a British comedian and author who largely focuses on political material. He has worked extensively with John Oliver; their work together includes Political Animal, The Department and The Bugle.-Early life:...
, "it was hard to work out if he had overachieved or underachieved with both bat and ball. Or done exactly as well as he should."
After the World Cup, bowling-related injuries began to take their toll on White, and he re-invented himself as a specialist batsman for Yorkshire. Always an aggressive shot-maker, keen to hook and drive the quicks, and hit the spinners into the deep, he added greater depth and consistency to his game. In 2004
2004 English cricket season
The 2004 English cricket season saw the English cricket team record a 4-0 Test series whitewash over the West Indies. Their one-day form was poor, however. In the Natwest Trophy, they failed to make the final, which saw New Zealand defeat the West Indies by 107 runs. And in the Natwest Challenge,...
, White was appointed 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 Yorkshire, and in 2005
2005 English cricket season
Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...
led them to promotion from Division Two of the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. However, he resigned as captain at the end of the 2006 season
2006 English cricket season
The 2006 English cricket season includes home international series for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England are coming off a winter with more Test losses than wins, for the first time since 2002-03, but still attained their best series result in India since 1985...
, having helped them to avoid relegation.
In 265 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...
matches, up to the end of 2006, White had scored 11,949 runs at 32.91 with a best of 186, while his 341 List A one day games brought him 8,933 runs at 26.56, with a best score of 148. He took 395 first-class wickets at an average of 28.47, with a best of eight for 55, and another 337 scalps in the one day game at 25.02, with a best of 5 for 19.
White's sister, Andrea, is married to the former Australian international cricketer Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
, who played together with White at Yorkshire for a number of years.
White is the President of the Royal Burton Agnes Cricket Club.