WHITE ENJOYS A LAUGH

CAMERON White laughed, loudly, when it was suggested to him on Monday that he could be picked for the Australian one-day team.

The question came after he powered to another Big Bash half century for the Melbourne Renegades, his fourth in seven games which took him, momentarily, to the top of the BBL run scoring table.

That’s where White, 34, has spent much of the recent domestic seasons, near the top of the run-scoring table, if only in white ball competitions.

He’s averaged 231 runs a season in the past two BBLs, and is sixth on the all-time run scoring list for the fledgling competition.

In state one-day games, White has been even better.

He scored more runs than anyone in the 2016 edition when he pumped out 457, with two centuries.

Last October, he only played four games for Victoria, but in one innings powered to 165 against Tasmania.

Everyone in Australian cricket considered him among the best limited-overs batsmen in the country.

So the question about national elevation, with a spot open after slugger Chris Lynn was ruled out through injury, seemed a valid one.

But White thought differently. And it wasn’t modesty. He wasn’t trying to be coy when he said “no chance”.

He really, seriously, thought he was absolutely not getting a call from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.

And he had fair reason to think that way.

White has played 88 oneday games for Australia, the first in all the way back in 2005, and the last in 2015.

It was January 23, in Hobart, against England, and White replaced the suspended George Bailey and David Warner was injured.

Headlines suggested it was the start of White’s “secondcoming” because before that recall the Victorian hadn’t played a one-dayer since 2011.

He was still monstering state attacks in limited overs though, was captain of Victoria as it went on a run of winning Sheffield Shield titles too, and in that four years out of the ODI team, had captained the Australian T20 team six times.

But by 2015, he was considered used goods.

Then, given another chance, he was out for a duck, out of the side, and never mentioned in national selection discussions again.

Australia won the World Cup three months later, without him, and the new era would be one without White.