Daily Times

MELBOURNE: Cameron White will fancy playing his first one-day international in three years after replacing the injured Chris Lynn in the Australia squad for the five-match series against England beginning on Sunday. A calf injury to explosive batsman Lynn opened an unlikely door for 34-year-old White, who played the last of his 88 ODIs in 2015 and has since been critical of a pro-youth policy he felt did not reward the performance of senior players. “Cameron’s in very good form, as his figures demonstrate. He’s playing very well,” selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement on Thursday, referring to White’s impressive displays for Melbourne Renegades in this year’s Big Bash League. “He’s one of the leading run-scorers in this season’s BBL, he’s experienced, he’s a very smart cricketer and he’s a good fielder. He ticks all the boxes for what we need at this stage.” White’s unexpected selection ahead of Glenn Maxwell follows Tim Paine’s shock and inspired inclusion in Australia’s Ashes-winning team despite the wicketkeeper not even being Tasmania’s number one choice. Melbourne hosts the first one-dayer between the Ashes rivals, before the series moves on to Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

Published in Daily Times, January 12^th 2017.