Yorkshire’s new recruit arrives at Headingley from Northamptonshire with quite the back story.
Fast bowler Jack White has signed a two-year contract with the county, Anthony McGrath’s first recruit since returning to the club as new head coach.
By the time the 2025 summer starts, White will be 33. His first wicket for Yorkshire will be his 150th in senior first-team cricket; 114 first-class, 30 in List A and five in T20s.
Here is someone who has been surrounded by cricket since birth. For example, his official name is Curtley-Jack White, all because his father liked the name of the West Indian Test game, Curtly Ambrose.
But in terms of his professional career, he was a late starter.
He only made his first-team debut in August 2020, aged 28, a Bob Willis Trophy fixture for Northamptonshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in which he struck twice.
Picture by David Rogers/Getty Images. Jack White bowls for Northamptonshire.
Born in Kendal, the major gateway town to the Lake District, he played age-group cricket for Cumbria and went on to play Minor Counties cricket for Cumberland and Cheshire.
In that sense, the comparisons to England limited overs quick Richard Gleeson are understandable. He grew up over the other side of the Pennines, he was plucked out of league and Minor Counties cricket late to play for Northamptonshire and has progressed impressively ever since then.
White has played club cricket in the Lancashire, Northern and Cheshire Leagues and has also played out in Australia and New Zealand during the winters, the latter where he has family.
He has worked on a farm in New Zealand and on the ski slopes in Austria, at that stage when a professional career with ball in hand was by no means certain.
It was whilst he was in Australia, playing grade cricket for Parramatta, that Northamptonshire offered him some second-team cricket in 2018 and then a subsequent contract.
In terms of the comparisons to Gleeson, White doesn’t have the express pace that the current Warwickshire man possesses, but he has plenty of skill.
Picture by Andy Kearns/Getty Images. Jack White in action for Northamptonshire.
Injuries have limited his progress – he only played four Championship matches for the Wantage Road last summer, for example.
But in 2023, he claimed 50 Championship wickets from 14 matches when Northamptonshire were in Division One. He won a host of end-of-season awards, including their Players’ Player of the Year gong.
His career best of 6-38 came against McGrath’s Essex at Chelmsford at the back end of the 2022 season, a match in which he claimed nine wickets overall.
White follows his former Northamptonshire coach John Sadler to Headingley, the latter announced as Yorkshire’s new batting coach at the start of the week.
His last game for Northamptonshire was against Yorkshire at Headingley in the final Championship match of 2024, in late September.
Next April, he will be steaming in at Headingley with the white rose on his chest – an exciting prospect indeed.
Picture by Harry Trump/Getty Images. Anthony McGrath has been quick off the mark having started work at Headingley last week.
