A CAREER-BEST eight for 55, a maiden hat-trick and 23 wickets from four championship matches at a cost of only 7.71 runs apiece all bear testimony to the fact that Craig White is at the peak of his form with the ball.

Before the current round of first-class matches, White was the leading wicket-taker in the country and second only in the national averages to Simon Brown, who had captured just seven victims and is now out of action for several weeks with a serious leg injury, aggravated during Durham's Benson and Hedges Cup debacle at Headingley on Wednesday.

White is certainly white-hot at the moment and desperately keen to win back his Test place, but he knows that he is going to have to bat as well as he is bowling in order to re-kindle the interest of the England selectors.

So far, he has not really got into his stride at the crease, but his 172 not out against Worcestershire at Headingley last summer was just one innings which proved what a quality batsman he is when in nick.

White did not even rate a mention when England picked their Texaco Trophy squad, but if the runs begin to flow and he keeps on taking wickets he should be in with a shout of playing in some of the Tests against South Africa this summer.

If he manages this, it will be a bonus for White, who has set his sights on doing at least enough to make it impossible for England to ignore him for their Ashes tour of Australia in the winter.

White's greatest asset as a bowler is his ability to surprise batsmen with his extra pace and bounce off the pitch and quite a few of his victims this season have admitted to being unprepared for the speed he can generate from quite a steady run-up.

His three hat-trick victims at Gloucester during his incredible five wickets for one run in ten balls spell certainly found him too quick for them.

Gloucestershire skipper Mark Alleyne had his leg stump taken out by a yorker, Martyn Ball was lbw to another express delivery of full-length and Jon Lewis knew little about the one that rattled his middle and off-stumps.

It was quite extraordinary that White should claim eight 55 and still finish up on the losing side - but by no means unique.

Peter Hartley found himself in exactly the same situation at Hove six years' ago when he took eight for 111, but Sussex still went on to win by six wickets.

White's figures were the third best by a Yorkshire bowler over the past 12 years and beaten only by Mark Robinson's nine for 37 against Northamptonshire at Harrogate in 1993 and Hartley's nine for 41, which also contained a hat-trick, against Derbyshire at Chesterfield two years' later.

Medium-pacer Stuart Fletcher grabbed eight for 58 against Essex at Abbeydale Park, Sheffield, in 1988 while in 1986 Arnie Sidebottom knocked back eight Leicestershire wickets for 72 runs at Acklam Park, Middlesbrough.

White can justifiably claim to be among the elite of Yorkshire's bowlers now because the county's list of eminent pacemen never to achieve eight wickets in an innings includes Chris Old, Paul Jarvis and Darren Gough - but 'The Dazzler' will insist that it is only a matter of time before performs the feat.

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