White: Hopefully there's another Test ton not too far away
Anand Vasu - 12 December 2001

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Not bad for a chap who started off as an off-spinning all-rounder. Not bad for a chap whose pace has dropped considerably in the last year and may never return. Not bad at all for a batsman who averages a paltry 20.84 in Test cricket. Craig White did all of Yorkshire, parts of Australia and England proud when he made 121 against India on the second day of the second Test at Motera, Ahmedabad.

"It's absolutely fantastic to make a Test hundred at last. It hasn't really sunk in yet. When that run went down to fine leg, it was a big relief for Craig White," said the big tall all-rounder, sipping an energy drink and talking to pressmen.

White has shown more than once that he has the potential to do well with the bat in the subcontinent and yet has come a cropper on this tour until now. "I always knew I could make a Test hundred. I got so close in Lahore last year but unfortunately fell short," began White. He made 93 against Pakistan at Lahore before falling short. "That was the biggest disappointment of my life. I was not sure when the next opportunity to make a Test hundred would come my way," he explained.

At Motera however, on a wicket that did not afford the kind of bounce and fizz that makes Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh unplayable, White made no mistakes. He was patient, watchful and yet hardly anxious to reach three figures. "Even though I went through the nineties in singles, I was still confident of doing it. I never felt the need to go for a big risky shot. I was seeing the ball quite well and made sure I got it today," said White. After Marcus Trescothick was dismissed on 99 just the previous day, there would have been some flutters in the heart and some shivers down the spine. White however, mastered all of that.

A year ago, White was thudding a heavy ball in, consistently touching the 140 kilometres per hour mark and often bowling quicker. A knee surgery however, has made it difficult for the speedster to recapture his form of old. The yorker he bowled to dismiss Brian Lara for a first ball duck is etched in memory but White realises that he may never bowl such a delivery again. "I realise I'm not the strike bowler that I used to be a year ago. Hopefully the pace will come back, maybe it won’t," he said.

As with all tough competitors, White has used this mini-crisis to redefine himself. "I'm probably working a bit harder at my batting now. If I can bat at seven and make useful runs and get 12 or 15 overs out of the way, I'm sure Nasser (Hussain) will be happy with that," he suggested.

If he can put in performances of the kind that held up the Indians, his captain will have no room to complain. What makes his innings especially creditable is the fact that White came in at 180/5. "This morning Nasser (Hussain) said to us to try and get to 350, so that was a short-term goal. Batting with Foster, we managed to put together a partnership, stick around at the wicket and nudge 400. That's put us in a great position."

At the end of the second day's play India have lost both their openers and England are indeed in a strong position. White's maiden Test ton had a lot to do with that.

It's not every day you see an English batsman playing spinners in India with control and ease. White explains how it was possible for him to do so. "I enjoy playing against world-class spinners. I treat it as a massive challenge, a way to test yourself against these world class bowlers. I just try to be positive as much as I can, without being reckless. In the past I've tried to do so and failed. I think the most important thing is deciding when to make the big shot." The maiden century obviously meant a lot to White. When he reached three figures he took his helmet off, kissed the badge of the three lions on his helmet and spent a moment gesturing to the dressing room. As is often the case, there was more to this celebration than a spontaneous outburst of joy. "It's our third tour to the subcontinent as a team and we've been through a lot of tough times. They've helped me through both the good times and the bad, so it was just a mark of respect to the boys," said White.

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At the end of a career, most players are remembered, if by nothing else, by the number of centuries they scored, number of wickets they took - statistics. The record books are not kind to Craig White. After this ton, he averages just under 21. Just four days shy of his thirty-second birthday, White is unfazed by this. "My Test career has had its ups and downs. It's only in the past two years that I've realised what I can achieve as a batsman. I've shown that I can make Test hundreds and hopefully there's another one not too far away."

The English have a tendency to look for a second Ian Botham where there is none. Ben Hollioake, Andrew Flintoff a host of others and White himself have had this very shadow fall on them. Perhaps now people will stop looking, and let Craig White be the first Craig White.

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