Thomas "Daddy" White (c. 1740, probably in Surrey – 28 July 1831,

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

) was a noted English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. White played in the 1760s and 1770s; details of his early career are largely unknown but he retired in 1779. He is known to have appeared frequently for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

and All-England since recorded scorecards first became commonplace in 1772. He was a genuine all-rounder who was successful as both a batsman and a change bowler. While playing he lived at

. There has been some confusion in various accounts between him and the similarly named Shock White of

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. The main cause of this confusion was the wide bat controversy which took place on 23–24 September 1771, when, "...one White of Reigate" tried to use a bat that was fully as wide as the wicket itself.

John Nyren John Nyren (15 December 1764 – 30 June 1837) was an English cricketer and author. Nyren made 16 known appearances in first-class cricket from 1787 to 1817. He achieved lasting fame as the author of '' The Cricketers of My Time'', which was fir ...

, ''The Cricketers of my Time'' (ed.

Ashley Mote Ashley Mote (25 January 1936 – 30 March 2020) was a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after ...

), Robson, 1998 The incident occurred when White was playing for

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

''versus'' Hambledon at Laleham Burway. The Hambledon players not unreasonably objected and a formal protest was made by Thomas Brett, as Hambledon's opening bowler; this was signed by himself, his captain Richard Nyren and master batsman John Small. The incident brought about a change in the 1774 version of the

Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

wherein the maximum width of the bat was set at four and one quarter inches. White may have done this with the intention of seeking an unfair advantage or merely as a prank, or possibly even to force the issue in order to get the Laws changed. Straight bats had replaced the old hockey stick shape a few years earlier (in response to bowlers pitching instead of rolling the ball as formerly) and the width issue may have been rankling. His motive remains a mystery but the Hambledon objection has been preserved by

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

(MCC). The Laws were formally changed in 1774.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Thomas English cricketers Surrey cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 1740 births 1831 deaths People from Reigate Kent cricketers Non-international England cricketers