Thank God it’s Friday .. Cameron White, Aaron Finch, Mike Atherton .. and the curse of captaincy.
For those in Melbourne, it's bloody cold!
She’s at her frigid best today, Friday October 28, 2022. And, the timing could not be worse — don’t ask Aaron Finch about timing — hopefully we get to watch Finch and his crew take on England tonight. Essentially, it’s an elimination game. Lose it and you’re cooked, or frozen, whichever way you want to look at it.
So, it’s been a couple of weeks since the last TGIF.
What do Cameron White and Mike Atherton have to do with Aaron Finch, you might ask? Obvious answer: Captaincy. I wrote this piece on White in October 2013 — not really thinking he would play on until 2020. I hope you enjoy; there are definite parallels with Finch. And when pressed earlier on what the embattled Finch might do, White simply said — “20 off 10 would be OK” — frozen fingers crossed.
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WHITE MAKES HIS CASE: BEAR ME IN MIND
From Bairnsdale to Dandenong, the Bushrangers to Australia, Richmond to Somerset and Northamptonshire. Throw in the Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and you have a yellow brick road well trod by one of cricket’s finest artisans, Cameron White.
Enigmatic and sometimes misunderstood, White was discovered at an early age then lost his way as an international player.
He will still navigate the modern-day cricketers’ highway, however the immediate questions about his career are: where to next, and what to do now?
White has started off this season faster than one of ‘Punter’ Ponting’s greyhounds on a cold winter’s night in Hobart. Consecutive match-winning batting performances in the Ryobi Cup has “The Bear” doing what he does best, winning games of cricket for his team.
But “Where to next” is the intriguing question that I hope is occupying much of his thinking.
My suggestion is the 2014/15 World Cup, where his combative white-ball skills, coupled with street-wise experience and genuine leadership acumen, would combine to deliver a credible middle order batting option for the national selectors.
It would seem, when looking at those players picked for the current ODI and T20 tour of India, that a determining factor in their selection was IPL experience. On perusal of White’s CV, he has this in spades; he will be hoping now that the Australian selectors widen their sometimes narrow thinking on player re-cycling.
White’s cricket assets are the same as they’ve always been: destructive middle order batter, better-than-useful over the top leg spinner and acutely intelligent thinker. But he is missing one piece of the jigsaw: the captain’s armband.
Cricket Victoria, no doubt encouraged by big brother, Cricket Australia, decided to relieve White of the captaincy after a decade in charge and hand the leadership this season to the embattled back stop – Matthew Wade. This at a time when the Bushrangers have never looked stronger.
On reflection, I do not see this as a misguided decision. On the contrary, it could prove a necessary shot in the arm for White, and a chance for Wade to demonstrate his acknowledged leadership qualities.
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Anointed before his time by that cricket cleric, David Hookes, White was elevated to the Victorian captaincy when most were still waiting for him to fulfil his obvious potential. Even with the reassuring benefit of hindsight, such a profound and courageous choice could not have reaped more rewards for Victoria.
The promise was never in question. I watched on as a team-mate for Dandenong when the “young big man” spun a web around South Melbourne in a grade game at Shepley Oval.
From memory, his figures were six-for not many in the first innings, including a hat-trick, and in the nicest possible way he reduced the usually accomplished Wayne “Rowdy” Phillips to a state of silent panic – dismissing him twice for nought with wrong-un’s that a dead fish would not have picked.
Reflecting on Hookes’ profound leadership decision draws me to make a comparison with a one-time colleague of mine, Mike Atherton.
In many ways, ‘Athers’ was quite the opposite to White – their backgrounds could not have been more different – yet their minds, and the way they thought about the game, were so similar.
Both were “cricket wise” beyond their years, however both were saddled with a level of responsibility that could be argued as being unrealistic at such a tender age.
It would be hard for me to quantify this burden in White’s case, but certainly for Atherton, leadership came at a cost. Personally and professionally, he became a guarded individual. The public perception of him changed.
White, I feel, has chosen a similar path, preferring the “my way” to the “this way”. It would not be unreasonable to draw comparisons to Atherton’s personality. Professionally both have prospered; sometimes, though, leadership responsibilities have weighed them down.
Undeniably strong in character, it is now time for White to join the troops and leave behind the baggage that comes with prolonged leadership challenges.
National selection has come before in all formats, although White’s holistic international record looks modest, I see enough upside to invest ballot paper in his ODI chances and a domestic trip to the 2104/15 World Cup.
If he gets even a hint of encouragement from the selectors, that should provide White the fuel he needs to launch into a domestic season like never before.
The once trendy role of the “finisher”, best practised by Michael Bevan a decade ago, is the spot White should be eyeing. Why not the role of the finisher/closer – the “Ice Man” cometh again in the guise of “The Bear”?
It’s time for White to employ a simple focus, swap trophy-gathering for run-gathering, play to his strengths – hitting long and straight – get runs on the board in all formats and vault his way into the most important tournament in world cricket.
As always, I appreciate you being here. And, enjoy tonight’s game.
