Melbourne, Jan 7: Cameron White’s form slump is sure to cost him his place in Australia’s one-day squad this summer and also quite possibly his prized captaincy of the Twenty20 international team.
If the latter occurs later this month when the national selectors convene to prepare for the two Twenty20 clashes with India it will undoubtedly be the biggest blow White’s decade-long career.
White''s below par Big Bash League performances — seven runs in four matches — are a key reason why the team he leads, the Melbourne Stars, have underachieved so significantly.
Apart from his strong work ethic in training and canny on-field leadership, the main argument for his retention as Australian captain is that his past three international Twenty20 innings have actually been decent: 39 in Sri Lanka and 28 and 39 in South Africa, according to The Age.
The bad form can be traced to October last year when he plundered an unbeaten 89 from 49 balls in a one-dayer in India.
White''s slump since then has spread across all formats. The only area he holds an average above 30 in that period is in first-class matches, with 32.55.
Only twice has he scored at better than a run a ball (one of those with four off three against Canada at the World Cup). He has also hit only two sixes in that period, four fewer than he managed in that single innings against India.
“He’s going through a difficult patch at the moment. He’s a talented cricketer. He’s under some pressure at the moment but . . . it will be a great learning experience for him to be able to bounce himself back out of it,” said Victoria and Stars coach Greg Shipperd.
© ANI
