Thursday, September 10, 2009

White`s hot streak at No 3 set to end


Cameron White accepts he'll have to cede the No 3 berth back to Australia captain Ricky Ponting despite scoring his maiden one-day century in the position.

White's 105 saw Australia to a six-wicket win over England in the third ODI at the Rose Bowl here on Wednesday as the world champions went 3-0 up in the seven-match series.

Ponting looked on from the pavilion, having only recently arrived back in England after taking a break following Australia's 2-1 Ashes Test series loss.

One of the world's leading batsmen, Ponting is set to return in his favoured position for the fourth one-dayer at Lord's on Saturday where another Australia win would secure a series victory.

White, who only made his maiden fifty at this level in Friday's series opening four-run success at the Oval, even suggested he would understand if, in the unlikely event, he was dropped rather than demoted this weekend.

"I understand Ricky will come back and bat three," White told reporters at the Rose Bowl after stumps.

"It was just until Ricky got back no matter if I got three ducks or scored some runs.

"He's the best player in the world."

Asked if there was a case for not changing a winning side and so keeping Ponting on the sidelines, White immediately replied: "No."

Reflecting on his stint so far at No 3, White said: "I've really enjoyed the opportunity, so we'll see what happens on Saturday when we get to Lord's.

"If the selectors want to keep the middle order the same I guess there's not much I can really do about that," he added.

"I guess I've put a good case forward to say I can bat anywhere in the order for Australia.

"If it means I'm sent back down to No 7 I don't really mind. I'm just happy to be batting for Australia."

White, who has batted higher up for his state and English county Somerset, said: "I didn't really know where I was batting when I got here, I didn't even know Rick was coming home to be honest.

"Tim Nielsen (the Australia coach) said there was a good chance I'd be batting somewhere high up the order, he said to prepare for that and I did.

"It was probably a day or two before the first game I found out I was batting at No.3. I knew it was going to be a good challenge and I'm glad I took it on. It was nice to play that role, give myself a bit of time to assess the conditions and just play, rather than coming in and having to score straight away."

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