The White stuff

WHEN Yorkshire unveiled their new captain in January, few of the fans had put their money on Craig White but his appointment still won widespread approval.

The only reason why he wasn't high up the list of favourites for the job was that he had never put his name forward before but changed circumstances meant that he was now ready and willing to take it on.

White had simply come to the conclusion that his Test days were most probably behind him and consequently he could give his full attention to leading Yorkshire.

The players were fully supportive as soon as his leadership was announced and the reasons for his popularity are not difficult to fathom.

More than any other Yorkshire captain in a long while, White can relate to practically every member of his squad because whatever their role may be he has done it himself - even down to a spot of wicketkeeping.

White is as versatile as they come and he has so many quality strings to his bow that he is well tuned up in every aspect of the game.

Currently, he is opening the batting but he has made runs in virtually every position in the order. His bowling, surprisingly quick off the pitch, turned him into an international all-rounder, but he can just as easily bowl off-cutters or off-spin, and although he is a fine slip fielder he is not out of place in any other fielding position.

Whatever White may ask of his players, therefore, they know that he has done it himself - and done it well.

But there are many sides to captaincy, some of which are not about personal achievement, and time will tell if White has got a natural flair for leadership.

There has always been a slightly shy side to White's nature and he can worry a bit if things are not going too smoothly. Now, however, his main concern is the team and he needs to relax and let his own game take care of itself.

White acknowledges that he is not one always to be shouting the odds but says: "It may look sometimes as if I don't get involved but I do watch what is going on closely and if I have anything to say then I say it.

"I have been studying my players' characters, observing how they behave and noting how committed they are to succeeding for Yorkshire. One or two still need to be worked on a little but the majority are doing very well and I am really impressed.

"Quite honestly, I have not had too much to do see we reported back at the beginning of March because David Byas put together a brilliant pre-season programme with loads of variety.

"Because of being with the England team, I have not spent much pre-season time with Yorkshire in recent years and I have really enjoyed this season's preparations.

"I am pleased with the general progress the players have made and there are going to have to be some really tough decisions taken as to who will play in the first Championship match of the season against Essex at Headingley on April 21.

"There is not much difference between quite a few of the players and I will be looking for those who have given that extra two or three per cent and are the most committed.

"Stiff competition for places is good for the team. Nobody's name has been pencilled in already. David and I started out with a clean sheet and we will pick the team that is most suited to that particular game.

"We are both singing from the same hymn sheet and I see no problems in selecting the squad together but once the game is underway then I will be in charge."

What White wants most of all this season is to lead Yorkshire to promotion in the Championship.

"We won the title in 2001 for the first time in 33 years but then took our foot off the accelerator without realising it," he said. "We thought it was quite natural that it would happen again and we didn't work as hard as we should have done.

"We also got rid of players while Surrey recruited three or four new men and snatched the title off us but I am confident the problems we experienced after 2001 have now been rectified.

"If we don't gain promotion straight away then I will blame it on to myself because I feel it is my responsibility to make sure that we do go up."

White is also aware that a lot could hinge this season on whether he is able to bowl regularly after the rib operation which resulted in him barely turning his arm over last summer when he failed to take a wicket for Yorkshire.

"When I started bowling in the nets again I was about 50-60 per cent right but that has been gradually improving and I felt good once we got outdoors," he said.

"There have been occasions when I have felt pain in my ribs but I am hoping that it will go away altogether.

"I probably won't be a front line bowler again but maybe I can get through ten or 12 overs in an innings and tie an end up while the strike bowlers are taking a rest."

White needs to look after himself but the more he is in the thick of any action the better it will be for Yorkshire.

The truth is that he is one of the most versatile players in the club's recent history as his figures testify.

He is easily their most successful one-day all-rounder with 4,737 runs and 222 wickets while in first class games he has scored 7,881 runs and captured 260 wickets.

If White can make the same impression with his captaincy as he has done with his statistics then Yorkshire will be on the up.

Updated: 10:45 Friday, April 09, 2004