English cricketer and umpire (1936–2023)
Robert Arthur White (6 October 1936 – 8 November 2023) was an English first-class cricketer and umpire.[1] He played or umpired more than 1,200 matches of first-class or List A cricket between 1958 and 2001.
Cricket career
Player
White joined the Lord's staff at 15 after leaving school. In 1955 and 1956 he did his National Service, mainly in Cyprus.[2]
In 1958 he made his county debut with Middlesex, where he played as a batsman. He had his most successful season in 1963 when he scored 1355 runs, the only time he reached 1000 runs in a season.[3] He was awarded his county cap during the season.[4]
In 1966 White moved to Nottinghamshire, where he developed his off-spin and played as an all-rounder.[5] His best bowling season was 1971, when he was the county's most successful bowler.[6] He took 81 wickets, and achieved his best figures of 7 for 41 against Derbyshire; he had taken 10 wickets for 51 in the match when rain washed out play early on the third day.[7][8] He made his highest score of 116 not out against Surrey in 1967, when he and Mike Smedley set a Nottinghamshire record of 204 for the seventh wicket after the score had been 64 for 6.[9]
In his final years at Nottinghamshire, White was manager and captain of the Second XI.[2] In his second-last first-class match, against Derbyshire in 1980, he took 4 for 33 in the first innings and 6 for 24 in the second, when Nottinghamshire dismissed Derbyshire for 54 and won by 89 runs.[10]
Umpire
In 1983 White began a 19-year career as a first-class umpire. He umpired 314 first-class and 323 List A matches before retiring after the 2001 season.[11] His most important appointments were to umpire several quarter-finals of the county one-day competitions.[12]
Death
White died on 8 November 2023, aged 87.[2]
