Sam Whiteman - Australia - WK-Batsman

Sam Whiteman (born 19 March 1992) is an English-born wicketkeeper-batsman who plays for Western Australia. He drew comparisons to Adam Gilchrist after a golden 2013-14 that included Big Bash League success with Perth Scorchers. He also impressed in Sheffield Shield, coming sixth on the run-scorer’s list with 687 at 45.80 to go with 45 dismissals. His maiden fast-class hundred came as part of a record 371-run stand with state teammate Mitchell Marsh for Australia A against India A in 2014, with Whiteman finishing on 174.

Over the years, Whiteman's name has done the rounds with wicketkeeper slot being in jeopardy after Brad Haddin's retirement. The volatile Matthew Wade did decently while the likes of Peter Nevill was also tried at before the stunning recall of Tim Paine for the 2017-18 Ashes series. Amidst all this, young Whiteman continued to be in the radar due to his effective glovework and attacking batsmanship.

A series of injuries, however, kept him out of action starting 2017. He returned to the Scorchers squad in 2018 as a pure batter but couldn't quite leave a mark. His dwindling form meant that he slipped out of the reckoning for an Australia spot with players like Alex Carey impressing. He moved to the Sydney Thunder in 2021/22 and returned to the Scorchers in 2023/24.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan