Cameron Leon White (born 18 August 1983) is an Australian former
international cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who captained the national side in
Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
s. A powerful middle order
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
and right-arm
leg-spin bowler, White made his
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
debut as a teenager in the
2000–01 season for the
Victoria cricket team
The Victoria cricket team is an Australian first-class cricket, first-class men's cricket team based in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The men’s team, which first played in 1851, represents the state of Victoria (Austral ...
as a bowling all-rounder. During his time with Australia, White won the
2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
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 Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and is the most successful captain in international cricket history, ...
looked for White to improve his bowling to play as a front-line spinner. Two successful winters with English county side
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
helped to propel White back into the selectors' minds. White had a short Test career playing four
Test matches in 2008.
His tenure as T20 captain ended with the 2012 series against India where he was dropped following poor form in the
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...
. He was succeeded by
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
teammate
George Bailey. His nickname of
"Bear" is due to his purported resemblance to the polar bear mascot of
Bundaberg Rum
Bundaberg Rum, colloquially known as Bundy, is a dark rum owned by Diageo. It is produced in Bundaberg East, Queensland, Australia, by the Bundaberg Distilling Company. In 2010, the Bundaberg Distilling Company was inducted into the Queensland ...
. White retired from professional cricket in August 2020.
Career
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 order and bowl as third or fourth change. His
first-class debut came in March 2001, aged 17, against
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. Batting at number nine, White scored 11 runs in his only batting inning of the match, and claimed 4/65
[4/65: 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
Australian Under-19 cricket team for two youth tests against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
He captained the
AIS Australia Cricket Academy side that toured New Zealand, beating the New Zealand Academy side 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
List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...
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
In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
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
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. He was named as captain of the Australian Under-19 squad to compete in the
2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The 2002 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was played in New Zealand from 19 January to 9 February 2002. A total of 16 sides competed in the tournament with Australia defeating South Africa in the final. It was the fourth edition of the Under-19 Cric ...
in New Zealand, and led his team to victory in the competition, beating
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
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-wicket haul
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter.
Takin ...
and
ten-wicket haul, taking 6/66 in the first-innings against
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
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 Berry and
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
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
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
.
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 teammate
Brad Hodge, and was captained by
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...
, 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
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
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 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
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
A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
...
, making 119 after Victoria were forced to
follow-on against Queensland. His
partnership
A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...
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.
International breakthrough

During his early career, parallels were drawn Victoria teammate 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
Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is a former Indian cricketer, captain, coach and commentator who played Test cricket, Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. A right-arm leg sp ...
instead. Midway 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 is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
, and his first experience of
Twenty20
Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
cricket resulted in an
unbeaten 58 with a
strike rate
Strike rate refers to two different cricket statistics, statistics in the sport of cricket. Batting strike rate is a measure of how quickly a batsman, batter achieves the primary goal of batting (cricket), batting, namely scoring run (cricket), r ...
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 cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at ...
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 Maclean Pollock (born 16 July 1973) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer, who was captain in all formats of the game. A bowling all-rounder, Pollock along with Allan Donald formed a bowling partnership for many year ...
, captaining the World XI team, said that his batsmen would target the young leg-spinner, but Australia captain
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and is the most successful captain in international cricket history, ...
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
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(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
The Chappell–Hadlee Trophy in cricket is a One Day International & Twenty20 International cricket series between Australia and New Zealand. It is named after legendary cricketing families from the two countries: the Chappell brothers ( Ian, ...
, 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
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay.
Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
first ball. In the New Zealand innings, he claimed his first senior international wicket,
bowling
Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...
Hamish Marshall.
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 earned 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 Hodge, and 6 wickets, trailing only
Shane Harwood, both Victoria teammates.
In April 2006, White joined up with English county side
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
for the first match of the
County Championship
The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
. After Somerset were forced to follow-on by
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, White came in at number five and scored 172 runs off 228 balls before finally being caught off the bowling of former Victoria teammate 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
In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at ...
at the close of his team's innings. against
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
in the 50-over
Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was followed immediately by 131* in the County Championship against
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, a half-century against the touring
Sri Lankans
This is a demography of the population of Sri Lanka including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the population, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Sri Lanka is an island in th ...
and then a second-innings 108 against
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, all made in the first half of June.
The
Twenty20 Cup
The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is ...
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 Lee Langer (born 21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022 and became ...
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 ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
. 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 teammate 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
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, 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 ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
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 Hilditch described his inclusion in the squad, praising his "great form with the bat and
ehas 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
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, leading teammate
Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds (9 June 1975 – 14 May 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, who played all three formats as a batting all-rounder. Commonly nicknamed "Roy", he was a key member of two Cricket World Cup, World Cup–winning squads. ...
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 among 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 Derbyshire. 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 Hildreth 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
A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture.
History
The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...
. 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
Lee Andrew Carseldine (born 17 November 1975) is a retired professional Australian cricketer, entrepreneur and media personality.
Education
Carseldine has a Masters in Applied Finance and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Que ...
, 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
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
respectively.
The auction for the inaugural season of the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
(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
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
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 (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
, Bangalore's 'icon' player, described White as an exciting addition, saying "White is a very exciting Twenty20 player and his domestic record
ith two Twenty20 hundredsin 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 Edward Marsh (born 9 July 1983) is an Australian cricketer who previously played for the Western Australia cricket team in Australian domestic cricket and has represented Australian national cricket team, Australia in all three formats. Ni ...
.
Cameron White holds the record for the highest individual score in a T20 as captain (141*).
On the international fringes
White was recalled to the Australian ODI and Twenty20 squads for the
2008 tour of the West Indies. 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
Andrew Symonds (9 June 1975 – 14 May 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, who played all three formats as a batting all-rounder. Commonly nicknamed "Roy", he was a key member of two Cricket World Cup, World Cup–winning squads. ...
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
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...
, 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
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
(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, ''Cricinfo''
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 Trophy 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 been 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 the favourite, incumbent vice-captain Michael Clarke 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
ustraliajob 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.
Indian Premier League
In the 2011
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
season, White was bought by
Deccan Chargers for US$1.1 million, becoming the second highest paid Australian in the IPL, behind
David Hussey
David John Hussey (born 15 July 1977) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batter and can also Bowler (cricket), bowl right-arm off breaks. He is the younger brother of former Australian cricketer Michael ...
. He was named vice-captain. During the following season, White captained the side for the first match with regular captain
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain in all formats. He was born in Matale, Central Province. In first-class cricke ...
on international duty. He scored his first IPL fifty against
Pune Warriors India, before scoring another four half-centuries, ending the season as the team's second highest run scorer with 479 runs with an
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of 43.54, a strike rate of 149.68, and a highest score of 78 runs. He also captained the Chargers in a further 2 matches.
The Deccan was terminated in October 2012, but White was retained by the replacement franchise,
Sunrisers Hyderabad, captaining the team when Sangakkara was not selected. He scored 209 runs, averaging 17.41 with a strike rate of 109.42.
International recall
White signed for
Northamptonshire Steelbacks to play in the
Friends Life T20 competition, as their second overseas player. White scored the most runs for the Steelbacks; 228 runs with an average of 57 and a strike rate of 131.03, with a high score of 62* from 8 innings. White re-signed to play for the
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
in the
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...
, signing a 3-year contract. It was also announced White would step down as captain of the
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
, with
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
succeeding him.
In the same week, White was rewarded for his
Twenty20
Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
form, earning a recall to the
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
Twenty20 team to play
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
. This led of the Australian selectors naming White in the 15-man squad for the
2012 ICC World Twenty20
The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 International, Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 O ...
, held in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
After nearly a 3-year absence, he was named in the ODI squad to replace the injured
Chris Lynn and ahead of
Glenn Maxwell
Glenn James Maxwell (born 14 October 1988) is an Australian professional cricketer. He has played for the Australia national cricket team in all formats of the game since 2012, although he is primarily a One Day International and Twenty20 Inter ...
.
Retirement
In August 2020, White announced his retirement from professional cricket. He said he intended to continue playing Premier Cricket for the Melbourne Cricket Club and was also looking for coaching opportunities.
Captain of Australia
When
Michael Clarke retired from
Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
, White was named captain for the 2-match
Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
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 Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
to captain the Australia ODI Team.
On the same day
Michael Clarke was announced as captain, of the
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
&
ODI teams, Cameron White was announced as the permanent
Twenty20
Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
Captain, with
Shane Watson vice-captain in all formats. However, he was dropped as captain of the
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
Twenty20
Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...
team, following poor form in the
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...
. He was succeeded by
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
teammate
George Bailey.
[http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-india-2011/content/story/550527.html White dumped as captain]
Notes
References
External links
*
*
DEC Bushranger Cameron White player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Cameron
1983 births
Living people
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australian cricketers
Australian cricket captains
Victoria cricketers
Somerset cricketers
Australian expatriate cricketers in England
Australia Twenty20 International cricketers
Sportspeople from Bairnsdale
Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketers
Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Australian Institute of Sport cricketers
Northamptonshire cricketers
Melbourne Stars cricketers
Melbourne Renegades cricketers
Adelaide Strikers cricketers
Deccan Chargers cricketers
Australian expatriate cricketers in India
Cricketers from Victoria (state)
Richmond cricketers
Melbourne Renegades coaches
21st-century Australian sportsmen