Cameron White

A World cup winning captain still in his teens, Cameron White had the world at his feet as he had led Australia Under19s to a World Cup win in the 2002 edition. He created history again by becoming the youngest captain for Victoria at the age of 20 in 2003-04. To start off, he was a bowler who could bat a bit, but over the years, he has become a hard-hitting batsmen who hardly bowls.

White had a difficult start to his domestic career. He struggled to be consistent and was dropped after a poor 2005 season. He led by example for Somerset in 2006 by scoring 1190 first class runs and the selectors looked at him as a bowling all-rounder. He was selected in the squad for the ODIs against the ICC World XI. His first major contribution was during the Chappell-Hadlee series in 2007, where he thumped 42 off 19 balls. However, he could not cement his spot due to his inconsistent bowling.

With the retirement of Hogg, White was touted as the No.1 leg spinner in the country. He was called up to shoulder Australia's spin department on the tour to India in 2008. He picked up Tendulkar as his first Test victim, but he had a very poor tour. He picked up five wickets at an average of 68.40. He never donned the baggy green again.

His poor bowling did not affect his batting. He experienced a rebirth during the 2009 tour of England when he smashed his maiden ODI ton at Southampton. He went on to score consistently in the Champions Trophy and on the tour to India. He capped it off with a brilliant century against Pakistan at Brisbane. Suddenly Australia had found a new batting hero.

He also demonstrated brute strength in the T20s. He made a great start by slamming 40 off 21 balls against England at the SCG. He showcased his strength in a humdinger against New Zealand in 2010 by blasting 64 off 28 balls to help Australia tie New Zealand's score of 214. His great form continued in the 2010 T20 World Cup when he blasted 85 off 49 balls against Sri Lanka, followed by a brilliant 43 off 31 balls in the semifinal win over Pakistan.

He was chosen as the T20 captain following the retirement of Clarke in 2011. But captained them in only 6 games, losing 4 and winning only 2 of them. His tenure as Australian T20 captain ended with the 2012 series against India where he was dropped following poor form in the Big Bash League. His ODI exploits also come to a tame end in 2011 following a poor campaign in the 2011 World Cup.

He was succeeded by the then Melbourne Stars team-mate George Bailey. After the termination of Deccan Chargers he was retained by the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and was named as their captain as Sangakkara was not selected in the eleven. He was named in the 2014 World T20 squad but didn't get many opportunities and failed to impress in the few games that he played. In 2015, he made a surprise appearance in an ODI against England, just before the 2015 World Cup but got out for a blob to again go into wilderness as far as international cricket was concerned..

He earned a recall again in early 2018 for the ODI series against England after Australia triumphed 4-0 in the Ashes at home.

By Kumar Abhisekh Das

As of January 2018