Ash White is, without question, a quintessential country lad.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Born and raised in Gunnedah, the 21-year-old worked in the mines until he found his true calling working as a Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO) at the local high school.
But, he said, it might never have happened were it not for a discussion with the Gunnedah High School Year 12 advisor.
"I was working in the mines at the time, and she said 'I think that it would be a good job for you. A lot of younger kids look up to you'," White said.
"I said 'I'll think about it', and then work lost a contract, so I took up the job offer and haven't looked back since ... I love it."
Given his upbringing, White's passion for the role is unsurprising. He was, he said, taught by his parents to offer help to whoever needed it - an ethos he espouses in his professional life, his personal life, and on the cricket pitch.
That instinct was in action on Saturday, as White played a key role in Albion's 88-run win over Kookaburras at Wolseley Oval.
After slapping a quick 37 to close out the innings and see Albion past 200, White backed up with ball in hand to take 3-23 and ensure his side's victory.
"I just love helping out wherever I can," White said of his cricketing philosophy.
"That's just me, that's how I was brought up, whenever someone needs help, I give it."
On Saturday, White's desire to propel his team to victory enabled him to overcome the rustiness of more than six months prior to the season without playing any cricket.
He was frustrated in his first game of 2022/23 last weekend after struggling with the bat, and was relieved when he began middling it against Kookaburras.
"The first week, I just felt like I wasn't up-to-date," White said.
"I was mistiming everything. I only faced four balls, but the four balls I faced, I just felt slow. Whereas yesterday, I just felt like I could go bang from the word go."
After James Mack's earlier knock of 71 and a solid innings of 47 from opener Alistair Hillard, White's contribution pushed the total to 7-209.
Needing to score at more than five runs an over in response, Kookaburras just couldn't get their chase going.
White produced couple of loose overs opening the bowling, where he struggled to find his radar with a swinging ball, but came back to snare three late wickets after Travis Oakley (3-23) and Damien Baldwin (2-22) did the bulk of the damage early.
Kookaburras eventually folded for 121, giving Albion a win which pleased captain Andy Mack to no end.
"We were trying to bat through the 40 overs and build partnerships," Mack said.
"To bat through and only lose the [seven wickets] ... it was good to bat through the 40 and have a few partnerships. To reach 200 on a big ground like this was a good effort."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News