Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sam Whiteman has been speaking about his first season with Yorkshire.
For much of the summer, the British weather has made Sam Whiteman feel right at home. Not for the last couple of days, however, with significant weather disruptions at Scarborough.
Mind you, where is home for Whiteman?
A Doncaster-born native of Western Australia, Whiteman is enjoying what you could describe as a cricketer’s dream.
He spends the English winters playing for WA, one of the most successful domestic sides in the world, while he is now marrying that by playing for the county of birth, Yorkshire, aiming to help progress them to a similar level.
“I have really enjoyed this season,” said Whiteman. “To play county cricket has always been a dream of mine, and to play for Yorkshire as well.
“The most enjoyable thing has been being around the group. A lot of guys have played a lot of cricket together, and they’re very close-knit.
“And there’s a real nice mix of youth and experience.
“Not only have I enjoyed this season, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy the next two after this as well.”
Whiteman was speaking amidst the delays at Scarborough, where he contributed a determined 49 to help Yorkshire recover from 6-2 yesterday to a close of play score of 144-5.
“I think there’s a group of them who talent-wise are some of the best I’ve seen, and they’ve now all got some good experience,” said Whiteman, aged 34.
“The way Wharts went about his work here, for example.
“I just think it’s a matter of time for these guys.”
That is quite a statement from Whiteman given the success of Western Australian Cricket, who have won trophy and trophy in recent years, including the Perth Scorchers in that bracket.
“Yeah, but I’ve been blown away by the talent at Yorkshire,” he continued. “There’s probably a group of four or five of them, and the upside is huge.
“You see snippets of innings and spells, which make you think, ‘This is awesome’. It’s only a matter of time before things just keep going up for these guys and this group.”
When Whiteman first signed for Yorkshire, he will have hoped to taste success in terms of silverware. Now that he has been with the county for five months has his confidence increased in that sense?
“Yes, it definitely has,” he said. “It goes back to the talent I’ve just spoken about.
“This year has been a decent season in terms of results.
“You look at missed opportunities in big games – The Blast and the One-Day Cup, missing out in the quarter-finals when we had opportunities to win those games – it’s disappointing.
“But it’s all part of the learning curve.
“Getting more experience playing in big games and learning how to close that out, I’m sure the group will keep moving forwards.”
There is every chance this season could still end with silverware given the White Rose are still within striking distance of leaders Nottinghamshire with four-and-a-half-games to go in the summer.
As aforementioned, Whiteman knows all about winning silverware. In all, he has won 10 domestic titles.
So, is there a key to playing at this time of a season and handling the pressures which come with prizes being on the line?
“I think you’ve just got to try and take every game as it comes, just one at a time,” he said. “It can be difficult because a win or a loss can hugely dictate how the rest of the season looks.
“We spoke about not looking too far ahead coming into this week, ‘Worry about next week when it comes around’.
“It’s also about embracing it and enjoying it because this is where you want to be, challenging at the back end of tournaments.”
Whiteman will remain with Yorkshire until the end of the season before returning to WA to play for them this winter. However, he won’t be captaining them again.
“Aaron Hardie is taking over the reins,” he added. “That’s exciting for the group.
“I’ll just go back and do what I’m doing here, just probably rock up at deep square-leg and focus on my batting.
“Having said that, it’s the last thing on my mind with so much left to come in the season here.”
