Australian all-rounder Cameron White says he is available for a return to play for Northants this summer.
The player’s manager, Gerard Sholly, has revealed that White would be keen on going back to the County Ground, after his stint playing for the club in the Twenty20 in 2012.
The Victorian Bushrangers skipper made the last of his four Test appearances for Australia five years ago, and has not featured in his country’s one-day international side since 2011.
White made his last Twenty20 international appearance at last year’s World Cup in Sri Lanka, and recent form suggests he is unlikely to play any part on the forthcoming Ashes tour.
In Australia’s recent Big Bash Twenty20 League, White scored a modest 188 runs in eight innings for the Melbourne Stars at a 22.25 average, and in the Sheffield Shield- Australia’s equivalent of the county championship - he has so far scored 233 runs from nine innings at 25.88.
White’s Ryobi one-day form has been equally disappointing with 73 runs from three innings at 24.33.
White, 29, has also so far bowled fewer than 20 overs of leg-spin overall in all three Australian domestic competitions this winter.
He was one of the Steelbacks’ more productive players in their terrible 2012 Friends Life T20 campaign.
He scored 228 runs with an average of 57 and a strike rate of 131.03.
White’s highest score of was one of 62 not out in his eight innings, but he couldn’t stop the County finishing bottom of their group winning just one of their 10 matches in a shocking summer.
“Cameron is available to play county cricket again this season having enjoyed his time at Northamptonshire last year,” said Sholly.
“He made a lot of friends at Northants and ideally would have stayed for longer if he hadn’t been called up to play for Australia (for a T20 series against Pakistan in Dubai).
“Given his experience and his previously successful stints at Somerset he’s always in demand as an overseas player so he would talk to Northampton if they want him to go back.”
Although seen as a one-day and T20 specialist, White also has a respectable first-class batting average of 39.87, while his 180 wickets have cost 40.63 apiece.
Northants have yet to nail down their overseas players for the new season.
The contract offer made to South African Rory Kleinveldt has been withdraw, and Northants are now chasing Australian pace bowler Trent Copeland, but his deal would only take in the first half of the season, and would not include the T20 competition.
The County have also made an approach to former skipper Mike Hussey, but the player, who retired from international cricket last month, has said he is not interested in returning to Northampton until 2014.
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