One of the great characters of Cumbria League cricket is 80 not out!
Few spectators at Sandair will have missed out on a running commentary on the game in progress – or one that was played 50 years ago.
Ken White has been celebrating his 80th birthday this week with family and friends, and no doubt recalling when he made his first team debut at Cockermouth back in the old Cumberland Senior League.
His son Gareth, of course, has continued the family tradition and is currently opening for the Premier Division title challengers after standing down as captain last year.
It’s been estimated that between them they scored over 42,000 runs for Cockermouth first team and took over 950 wickets. The combined total of club centuries is 28.
However it should be noted that Ken contributed only one of those centuries, although in fairness White senior took 850 of those wickets.
It should also be noted that although there have been cases of father and sons playing for the county – Cumberland as it was – Ken White has the unique distinction of having his brother and son also appear for Cumberland in Minor Counties cricket.
Ken played twice for Cumberland in 1966 against Yorkshire 2nds at Workington and Durham at Edenside. In the second innings against Yorkshire he made his highest score of 21 before being stumped off the bowling of David Ash who later played 71 times for Cumberland and was a pro for Penrith.
He only managed five more runs in three other innings so finished his Cumberland career with an average of 6.50 and was not required to bowl.
Younger brother Ashley, who also played for Staffordshire, played eight times for Cumberland between 1974 and 1980, scoring 138 runs, top score 44, average 12.4. He also took a couple of wickets.
But Gareth topped both dad and uncle by playing nine games between 2001 and 2006. He scored 497 runs, made two centuries (top score 138 v Buckinghamshire at Barrow in 2002) with an average of 35.50. He also took five wickets.
With his cricketing days behind him, Ken is still as competitive as ever on the bowling green and pre-pandemic was a club champion.
Football was also an important part of his sporting armoury in his 20s when he turned-out for Workington reserves.
Indeed, a creative ball playing inside forward, Ken once played against the Golden Boy of football, Albert Quixall on Borough Park. He can still recall the exact spot where he nut-megged the man who was the most expensive player in English football at one time.
There’s one thing for certain, the sporting scene in West Cumbria – particularly in Cockermouth – would be that bit duller without Ken’s contributions over the years, both on and off the field. Happy birthday!
