The selectors sit around a table. A stack of papers – statistics – remains untouched and forgotten.
Trevor Hohns, their chairman, looks up from his crystal ball. He leans forward slowly with a confident grin on his face.
“Cameron White?” he asks. The rest look at each other and nod. “Cameron White,” they reply in unison.
White’s inclusion in the one-day squad is the latest offbeat choice by selectors that has caused a stir. The Victorian’s Big Bash form has been excellent, with 285 runs at an average of 142.5, but the Twenty20 format and one-dayers aren’t the same thing. One doesn’t necessarily transfer to the other.
White has played only four 50-over games in recent times – in the JLT One-Day Cup – and while he smashed 165 in one knock, he managed only a further 34 runs in the remaining three fixtures. Hardly a rich vein of form.
There is more to selecting a player than on statistics and form alone. Those entrusted with picking a squad also consider team fit, fielding ability and other qualities, like leadership. And White ticks these boxes. He:
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But have the selectors used enough foresight picking White? The 2019 World Cup is 16 months ago. Are they backing the 34-year-old to perform consistently over that period and sure up the middle order?
There’s no doubt that the man is capable. White was once one of Australia’s most consistent performers in his heyday, though that was many years ago.
While the White decision may turn out to be the right decision, the selectors must tread lightly. Their selections this summer have paid off – to the surprise of most. For once the inboxes of Hohns and Co aren’t filled with hate mail.
But what happens when a left-field decision fails to pay off? Then the selectors won’t have a player’s statistics or good form to fall back on. They’ll be left to defend themselves with a shrug and a remark, “It felt like the right decision at the time”.
How many times has that statement held up in court?
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