Ben White, we've been expecting you
Ireland's leg-spinner records career-best figures in T20Is to help beat Afghanistan
Sometimes a fanbase just needs a semblance of reassurance. Heck, a player does too. Ireland leg-spinner White has been subject of plenty of discussion in recent years. Plenty of it has not been positive. Akin to many Irish selection calls, the inclusion of White in various teams has led to many an eyebrow raise, if not derision.
Not on Friday night, Whiteâs spell of 4-20 propelling Ireland to victory over Afghanistan in a fraught contest in Sharjah. Needless to say, the figures were Whiteâs career best in T20 internationals.
Friday wasnât quite vindication for the Irish selectors. White probably needs a few more match-winning displays for that. But what it was is nearly as important: a glimpse into what White can be for this Irish side. Itâs all well and good coaches and selectors believing in him, but journalists, fans and - much more importantly - the player himself all need concrete evidence that he can win games of cricket for Ireland to fully buy in.
To overly criticise Whiteâs Ireland performances up to now would be harsh. Perhaps unfairly, perceptions have been stained by performances during Test matches on the subcontinent and the team-wide disaster that was the ODI World Cup qualifier last year. In three Tests, he has an average of a wicket every 109 runs conceded. In just two ODIs, itâs one every 118.
Small sample sizes, yes, but Irelandâs return to Test cricket and their attempts to reach the World Cup were probably the most-watched events by Irish fans last year. Those impressions lasted.
None of it was really Whiteâs fault. The combination of his height and action leaves a bowler better suited to bowling flat and into the pitch. These are desirable characteristics in T20 since itâs hard to hit, less so in the longer formats where that into-the-pitch length doesnât dismiss defensive batters. The Ireland camp publicly said as much in a bid to defend White after the less than stellar Test performances: what did you expect? Heâs a white ball bowler.
Why then, did they pick him at all for red back matches, only to drop him for white ball games vs Bangladesh and then drop him in for an ODI debut at those ill-fated qualifiers? I digressâŚ
All of which is to say, youâd have to be a particularly keen watcher of all things Irish cricket to not be somewhat surprised by Whiteâs most recent performance. Hands up if you watched him bowl vs Jersey in the T20 qualifiers last July?
White has been good, bordering on bloody good for a decent period of time in T20. Itâs starting to become a big enough sample size that we should take notice. Since the 2022 T20 World Cup, heâs played 12 matches and taken 19 wickets at an average of 15.21. His career average is 20.50 - he is improving.
White also hasnât been whacked, youâd take an economy of 7.22 from an Irish spinner.
Contrast this to Gareth Delany, Irelandâs premier spinner at that 2022 World Cup, who has taken just five wickets at an average of 38.2 since that tournament. When you put it like that, the competition to be Irelandâs main twirler heading into the next World Cup in the US isnât even close.
âGaz [Delany] hasnât played consistently, Whitey out-performed him over the last 12 months,â agreed head coach Heinrich Malan after Fridayâs win. âThen Whitey got injured and hasnât played either since August last year. For those two lads to come in and play a pivotal role in conditions thatâŚthe pressure is more on them because theyâve got to perform. They are the attackers in these conditions.â
Thereâs a lot to unpack there. If White has been âout-performingâ Delany, a fair enough statement based on the above comparison, why didnât he play before Christmas in Zimbabwe? Malan answered the question when referencing his injury. If Friday was the first youâre hearing of this, youâre not the only one.
Not only was White injured, but he had a stress fracture in his back; the most serious injury a bowler can get. No one said anything until a passing mention on commentary on Friday night. You would think if your main T20 spinner is ruled out for an extended period less than 12 months out from a World Cup, that would be communicated. Iâve gone back and checked the press releases. Nothing.
What a comeback. Welcome back to international cricket after one of the most debilitating injuries in the sport, Mr White, have a career-best spell.
Friday was a performance not lacking both fortune and misfortune. On just the second ball bowled by White, Mohammad Ishaq, who had earlier flayed Mark Adair to all parts, smashed a beautifully hit slog sweep straight to Barry McCarthy at deep-square. Couldnât have picked him out any better. It was hit so hard and flat that, if it went two yards either side, it was probably six. Instead the ball nestled in McCarthyâs hands. Wicket number one.
Wicket number two caused no end of controversy. Well, what âshouldâ have been wicket number two. Mohammad Nabi smashed a full delivery out to deep cover, where he was caught. Not so fast. The umpire sticks his arm out - no ball.
Or was it?
No one outside the Irish changing room or his family has seen Paul Stirling animated. That changed once he saw the above replay on the big screen, remonstrating with the umpire for firstly giving the no ball, and secondly for not having it overturned by the third umpire.
Josh Little thought it helpful to come over and show the umpire exactly where Whiteâs heel had landed. Stirling threw his arms in the air in disgust, dismay and disparagement. Or he was just singing YMCA by The Village People.
Justified or otherwise, the protests will almost certainly see Little and Stirling part with significant portions of their match fees. Demerit points will also likely be handed out. This could be an issue for Little in particular. An altercation with Sikandar Raza last year left him three demerit points away from a ban.
Regardless of the hoopla, two overs later, White clicked back into gear. He lost some control, bowling another no ball and a wide. But the extra balls worked in Irelandâs favour. Firstly, that aforementioned T20 hard length paid dividends as Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai tried to pull a ball for six off a length that makes it very hard to do so. He picked out Curtis Campher on the rope.
That was the classic T20 wicket for a bowler like White. The next delivery was his piece de resistance, a wicket heâs not really supposed to get. Squaring up to a left-hander, he somehow tossed up a delivery that was still relatively flat. A googly, it drifted, dipped, and ultimately spun past Nangeyalia Kharoteâs outside edge and onto the off stump. Heâll struggle to bowl a better delivery in his T20 career.
White was relatively calm during the previous no ball kerfuffle. He was anything but after this ball, the joy and pent up frustration bursting out in an emotional display that matched Irelandâs performance across the board.
In his next over, White tossed one up again, inducing Nabi to sky one down to Harry Tector at long-off. With Nabi went Afghanistanâs hopes, even if some did wait until Little dismissed Rashid Khan before offering up the last rites.
It was a statement win, both from White and Ireland. Zimbabwe last year were understrength. Afghanistan, by contrast, are much closer to full metal jacket. Granted, Mujeeb and Noor didnât play, but in Rashid, Nabi, Farooqi and Naveen, the hosts boast a bowling quartet with plenty of IPL experience. To beat Afghanistan on a used, spinning track in a format at which their best players excel is no mean feat.
Whisper it quietly, but when you pair this win with the Zimbabwe series, Ireland are even starting to find ways to win tight, tense matches. For so long, they were the side that only knew how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
As for White, he showed a new dimension to his game. Extras at times portrayed control issues which can plague him. Yet he also showed an ability to toss the ball up, to bowl fuller than normal and take wickets by extracting spin on a helpful track. He was a quality operator, as opposed to just waiting for batters to hit him to deep fielders off a heavy length.
One win and one spell do not a quality T20 side make. But Ireland, imperfect as they are, are finding ways to consistently win in the shortest format, and not just in isolated bilaterals. They are building momentum ahead of a major tournament.
Itâs not often weâve said that about an Irish T20 side.