Sportingbet 'Next Australian Captain'

Saw that. It's not bad by sportingplod. People will get sucked in by that.

White is a good price but the selectors hate Victorian's so not worth the money, even though he's the best cricket captain in Australia.

The Australian cricket team, Ricky Ponting and the selectors and fans hyped up White to be the next Warne. White was never going to be the next Warne. His bowling never looked like being the next Warne. They turned him into something he is not and fucked him over. Look at my post in the other thread about him.

Australian selectors think Hauritz is the next Warne, think Doherty is the next Warne, think Smith is the next Warne. They are trying to turn players into something they're not.

If Smith is hyped up and treated like the next Warne, it will be a waste of a career ala Cameron White.

When White played for Australia, he batted at 8. They thought he was Warne, they wanted him to be Warne but his batting was better than his bowling. His batting was solid and should have batted higher in the order.

White has captained Victoria to titles and finals the last few years. He took on the captaincy at the age of 20. He has the better record as a captain than anyone else domestically in Australia. He should be captain of the one day and 20/20 side.

White is 27. Perfect age as the batting starts to go on around your late 20's. Hayden was tried early and came back and was a gun, why not White?

Why he’s not already the national Twenty20 and one-day captain beggars belief. He assumed the captaincy of Victoria at just 20 years of age, and has performed with distinction for seven years, widely praised as an imaginative, cheerful, determined skipper who leads from the front.

In that seven years his sides have reached five Shield finals, winning three; the last four consecutive domestic one-day finals; and all five domestic Twenty20 finals, winning four. It’s an astonishing record.

Yet every time his name comes up, someone declares that White’s batting isn’t up to Test standard.

White’s batting is about as destructive as the GFC when he turns it on, which is apparently what makes him unsuitable. Critics point to his average of 41.9 as being below par. It’s actually highly impressive for a guy who started his career purely as a leg spinner at the age of 17, batting at No. 9, and averaging less than 20 in his first three seasons.

As White moved up the order after his 2000 debut, so did his stats. In the 2006/07 Sheffield Shield, he averaged a tick under 40. The next season, just under 50. The next, nearly 58. And last season, 47. In between were prolific 50-plus seasons in country cricket.

Then there was his recent gritty century against the touring English side in the Australia A game in Hobart, when the more fancied challengers failed. There is more to his ability than as a limited-overs power hitter. 16 first-class hundreds don’t speak of a lower-order cudgelman having a lucky flail.

Criticising his Test batting record is also a popular tack, though senseless, given he’s never had the chance to fail.

In White’s four Tests in India in 2008, he was played as a spinner and forced to bat at No. 8. Genuine batsmen generally struggle that low down, distracted by the change in their role and unable to build an innings as they normally might.

Still, White’s seven innings ended up with two not outs, a 44, and a 46, mostly while batting without top-order support. There’s nothing to suggest that the backing of a top-order spot wouldn’t give a far greater yield.

In fact White’s case is reminiscent of Steve Waugh’s.

Waugh started out as a bits and pieces player: handy bowler, handy bat. He took four years to get his first Test hundred, and averaged 36 after 46 Test matches. Yet by hard work and sheer determination, Waugh rose to become the pre-eminent batsman of his day, and despite the handicap of his early career, ended with a Test average of over 51. For several years there, if there was a guy batting for your life, you wanted S.R. Waugh at the crease.

Then there was Andrew Symonds, a one-day smasher with greater potential. Again, the selectors gave him time and top-six backing. Though it tested the patience of some, the investment paid off. Symonds showed the world and himself that he had what it took, as a valuable Test batsman, a useful bowler, and an outstanding fieldsman.

White could be very much in the same mould. His attacking play makes him a potential game-breaker, of the sort Australia has lacked in recent years. His much-maligned bowling could still prove a handy option: 172first-class wickets at 40 isn’t terrible, and the man dismissed Tendulkar twice in Tests.

And for what it’s worth, he’s also an outstanding slip fieldsman, something missing since Shane Warne and Mark Waugh rode off into the sunset. Ponting is very good, but his athleticism and ability to throw down stumps are wasted in that position.

In every facet of the game, White would bring something to the team, but leadership is the most important. Australia’s future would be looking far more stable if he had already notched a dozen Tests.

Full feature here:

https://www.theroar.com.au/2010/12/16/life-after-ponting/

He should be given a chance in the test side - his stats point to it. Because he's Victorian, the selectors won't look at him.

Sure he may not bat number 4, but number 5 or 6 is pretty decent. Particularly after Hussey and Ponting go, he will be right to slip in. Should be in Smith's position right now IMO.

You mofos think he shouldn't be in the test team? Look at his stats. He can do better than North and Smith

Stats don't lie. Those stats are solid. White should be a given a chance in the test squad. White is the next captain if I was in charge of the Australian cricket team.

How can you argue against those stats? You can't.

Well yes. Siddle shouldn't play for Australia again. He is shit.

Brainwashed Victorian's?

No way.

White has done more as a captain than Clarke or any other current test player who takes over Ponting will do. He has more leadership qualities than Clarke and anyone else who would take over Ponting.

He is hitting his prime age. Remember Hayden got showed up early and came back strong. White will do just this if he's given a shot. Steve Smith gets selected because he's a New South Welshman. He's falling down the same path as White. People expect the next Warne out of him. These selectors are fucking up people's careers by having closed minds about White. It's no conicidence he's a Victorian and being shafted by the selectores.

 Newcastle Sydney Wollongong