By Nick Creely
Buckley Ridges captain-coach David White harbours no regrets about his eight years as a first class cricketer.
The 27-year-old South African compiled a fine career, made centuries both in his native country and abroad, and gave everything in his pursuit of making it at the very highest level.
But, in February of this year, White hung up the whites after almost decade of toiling for Eastern Province/Warriors in the South African franchise system, in a decision he describes as a “transition” from the intense nature of life as a professional career into the life of business and studying.
He reflected on his journey, one that took him to 4300 runs at First Class level, 1210 runs at List A level, a further 786 as a Twenty20 player, and also on the brink of international selection with a tour to Australia with the South Africa A side in 2014 and also with the South Africa Emerging Player Squad.
“For me personally, it (his career) was very up and down, there was a lot of frustrating times, and I look back at it grateful, but very bittersweet,” he said.
“There were times where I showed the ability to perform well at franchise level and showed I had the capability to potentially play international cricket, but I wasn’t consistent enough.
“After the opportunity with South Africa A in 2014, I just wasn’t consistent, and I couldn’t put the same performances in often enough that got me that opportunity in the first place.
“It’s a tough system in South Africa, there’s not a lot of opportunity, and you really have to be a top performer to be given continuous opportunity, and in the last two to three years, I was quite frustrated, both personally and with the system.
“I sort of got to a point where I realised that I needed another career – I’ve got no regrets, I gave absolutely everything I had for a long period of time, and I made a decision that I needed to change, and I’ve seen examples of guys that have held on in cricket for too long, and then find themselves struggling for employment and struggling with the transition.”
Born in Durban (Natal province), White moved to Port Elizabeth when he was young, and attended the famous Grey High School, a school that has produced a fine line of South African cricketers, some of which includes none other than the greatest Proteas player of all, Graeme Pollock.
Through his rise in the ranks as a junior – including playing in the Under 19 World Cup for South Africa – White has played cricket all of his life, excelling, making runs and even knocking over world class players.
But, a mixture of bad luck brought him to the early stages of 2018, where a decision needed to be made about his future.
“I have struggled with a few untimely injuries, but I played the first game of the last season for the Warriors, and got 94, and then broke my finger against the Lions, and missed a good portion of the beginning of the season,” he explained.
“When I came back, I didn’t hit the ground running, and I feared that I would lose my contract, and I sort of decided in about January and February to give it some serious thought, so I looked at alternate options.”
White said that the first-class system in South Africa left him frustrated, and was also a contributing factor in retiring from the game.
“There are a lot of good cricketers in South Africa, and I do understand that transformation needs to happen with the history of our country, so I do get that it needs to happen – at the moment, the avenue and opportunity for players is too small, there are enough good cricketers,” he said.
“We have six franchise sides, which basically feed into the international side – it was based on an Australian model a few years ago, but South African cricketers have different demographics to Australia, so it makes it difficult.
“They should make more teams, and then you would be able to have transformation but also keep other players in the country.”
However, White is now moving forward in the next phase of his life, focusing on his studies, all with the aim of entering the business world, and potentially travelling and living around the globe.
“I graduated (from university) last year, and all of this year, I’ve done an honours degree, through correspondence with University of South Africa. I started the degree at the beginning of the year, and I’ve got three sit down exams in February, so I’m hoping to pass those and get that under the belt,” he said.
“My degree is in business, in strategic management – I met some good people in the UK, and we chatted about life after cricket, and there were a few guys that have done well business wise, and we spoke about that.
“It looks like one of those could help me with an opportunity in J’oburg, so it looks like that’ll be my first move – I’ll get into the corporate life, get into the suit, and finally work for a change.
“I would like to live abroad and work at some stage, and that’s basically what I’ve been doing the last year, building a global network for myself, and I was able to do that in Surrey and potentially even here (in Australia).
“I’m weening myself off the game, I guess, but the key thing for me is, I’ve got no regrets – I potentially would have wanted more, but I’m proud of the things I did do, but the fact that I put in the effort when I did play, makes the transition a lot easier.”
And while White said it’s unlikely he’ll play any form of cricket while living in South Africa, he’s left the door ajar to play more cricket overseas.
That’s where his latest journey to Australia ties in, with White coming to the country to play some club cricket for the first time, and it happens that Buckley Ridges – arguably the most powerful club in the Dandenong District Cricket Association – have signed him on as captain-coach as he focuses on his studies.
“It’s my second time here, but my first time playing an extended period of cricket – I did a tour in 2014 with South Africa A, and that was in Townsville for three to four weeks, but I haven’t played club cricket here before,” he said.
“The guys (at Buckley Ridges) have been good to me so far, no complaints – the guys did well last year, and have continued that this year, it’s a good cricket team, and obviously with the rules allowing certain points we’ve got a few overseas players that are really experienced.
“When I was in the UK, at Ashtead in Surrey, we had quite a young side, and here, I’m finding the average age is older and most of the guys know the game pretty well. And that definitely shows on the field.
“It’s not only the overseas guys, we’ve got a really good group of handy local cricketers, like DJ Watson, who has done the business in the DDCA for a really long time, and other players that are locals.”
White enjoyed a blistering start to life in the DDCA, starting with a century in a Twenty20 against Dingley, before belting 85 not out against Heinz Southern Districts and 52 against Hallam Kalora Park, but will be forced to sit until after Christmas with a broken thumb, along with another star player, Jurgen Andersen.
“I think we’ll be fine (without Andersen and himself) – we finished quite early on Saturday, so I went down to the seconds and had a look, and was quite impressed,” he said.
“Just looking at the guys, there’s a lot of really good cricketers.”
With only memories left of what was an outstanding first-class career, White named the best player he’s faced, and the best batsman he’s bowled to.
“Best bowler I’ve faced would be Kagiso Rabada, he’s the one that broke my finger in September – he’s just a natural, he’s got all the tools and ability, and the pace, accuracy and aggression. It’s no coincidence he’s one of the best in the world,” he said.
“I haven’t bowled in a while, but early on, I bowled to Neil McKenzie, and I felt he was a great player and terrific at franchise level. And Quinton De Kock, but he was my second first class wicket.”
