Club Cricket
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EX-NORTHAMPTONSHIRE batsman Rob White admits that his only regret from his days at Wantage Road was that he didn’t dedicate more time to honing his bowling game.
Still, better late than never. The 37-year-old, who hit 277 – including 107 before lunch – against Gloucestershire in 2002 to record the highest maiden century in English firstclass history, never enjoyed much success with the ball during his ten years in the professional ranks, but has finally been able to let loose in the Northamptonshire Premier Division.
White is currently enjoying his fourth season playing for Old Northamptonians and last weekend, he recorded career-best figures of 7-25 as he tore through Horton House, helping his side to a thumping nine-wicket win.
The former occasional leg-spinner, who now coaches at Northampton School for Boys, is savouring the opportunity to finally add another string to his bow.
“It’s probably one regret in my career, that I probably should have worked a bit harder in the off-season and I should probably have bowled a lot more, really,” said White.
“But saying that, there were some really good spinners throughout my career at Northants, so there were always a few bowlers ahead of me – it was difficult to get a bowl.
“I enjoy [playing for Old Northamptonians] because it’s something different to what I’ve always done. I thoroughly enjoy having my bowl every week.
“I suppose, as the years have gone on, my bowling has got better as my batting’s got worse!
“I get to bowl my 15 overs every week, so it’s that regular bowling – when I was playing professionally, I could go months without bowling in the middle.
“I’d still bowl in nets but nets at a professional club can be a difficult environment to practise your spin bowling because you end up getting smashed everywhere!
“Now I bowl in matches and I feel a lot more confident that I know where the ball’s going.
“There were periods where I bowled a bit but I had the odd spell where I was given the ball and when I walked up to bowl, I wasn’t sure where it was going to go, which is not easy.”
White’s long-term aim is to launch a career as an umpire but in the meantime, he is more than happy to play a key role in the Northamptonians’ latest Premier Division title charge.
He said: “It’s been a little up and down compared to last year where we won pretty much every game.
“This year, we have lost a few but some of our fast bowlers have been injured and we’ve struggled with our attack for most of the season.
“Having said that, we’re still up in third place, so I’m quite happy we’re still up competing.”