White relishing Grace Road opportunity

Wayne White believes that he is coming back to Grace Road as a better cricketer and wants to repay the faith shown in him by Andrew McDonald and Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

The 29-year old said that County’s Head Coach was a massive influence in his decision to return and is looking forward to his second spell at Leicestershire.

In an honest and open interview, White accepts that he has to win people over at Grace Road but it is clear that he is ready to take on a senior role in the dressing room and help the side enjoy success on the field.

“Andrew McDonald has been a massive factor in me coming here,” said White. “When we had a successful T20 season he captained half of it and many of the younger lads spent a lot of time in his company.

“He spoke a lot of sense about cricket and we all knew that he would become a coach at some point. It is great that he’s back at Leicestershire.

“Andrew has backed me by bringing me here. It wasn’t the greatest of departures the last time I left, and there is some making up to do with some of the members and people around the club, but he has backed me and I have got to start repaying that faith.

“Everybody understands that it won’t happen overnight here. The signs have been positive this year as we have some good young players coming through and Andrew is keen to have a few more senior players around.

“Andrew is backing me to be a good influence in the changing room and on the field, and lead us to a few victories. It won’t happen straightaway but we have to improve every day and every season, and hopefully success will then come.

“I’ve experienced a few different cultures, different coaches and different people. There are a lot of younger players around so it’s important that I make the right influence on them and say the right things – and maybe not say certain things at certain points.

“Andrew is keen on me to be involved in the team meetings, and obviously I have to gain the trust of the lads and coaches through playing first, but if I’m needed to speak then I’m happy to speak. If younger players want to speak to me then I’m always here to listen.”

White left at the end of the 2012 season to push himself out of his comfort zone in a bid to improve his game and he feels that has happened during spells at Lancashire and Derbyshire.

The all-rounder is now happy to be back at a club where he enjoyed a lot of success in the past and White is looking forward to wearing his Leicestershire county cap on the field for the first time.

He said: “I may not have played as much as I would have liked in the last few years but I definitely feel that I’m coming back as a better player. These should be the best years of my career and I’m glad that they will be at Leicestershire.

“It doesn’t seem like two minutes since I was last here and the club is looking on the up under Andrew. I played alongside him and I can see what he is trying to do here, so hopefully I can help him to bring success to Leicestershire in the next few years.

“I had a couple of good seasons on the bounce and got capped in the last game of the 2012 season. I can’t wait to get the cap out of the cabinet and wear it on the field. It will be a proud moment for me and also my family, because they are really pleased that I am coming back.

“I haven’t scored the weight of runs that I scored in the last season at Leicestershire since I left. So the next six months, when I’m preparing for next season, will be about working hard on my batting.  This season the club has shown that it can take 20 wickets every game but we need to put more runs on the board and I need to contribute to that.”

McDonald is pleased to have White back on board and is looking forward to the opportunity to work with him again.

He said: “It’s always nice to get a quality player like Wayne back in the group and he adds to our depth. He bats, bowls and is very good in the field and can play in all three formats of the game, so Wayne will be a great acquisition for us.”