In the last year Craig White has gone from an underachiever at test level to one of the most important players in England's line-up.
Craig White is an Englishman who spent his childhood in Australia, still evident from his accent. He has always been a successful cricketer for his county, Yorkshire, batting in the middle order and bowling with pace, accuracy and variation, but until recently has failed to make a big impression on the Test Arena.
White made his Test debut 6 years ago but the 1st Test against Pakistan is just his 13th game. He averages just 13.41 runs in his first 12 matches, although his bowling has been better with 24 wickets picked up.
So why has Craig White gone from zero to hero?
I must admit that I don't know why his early performances were not up to scratch, but it seems quite obvious why he is now enjoying great success in Test Match Cricket.
Firstly his batting. Craig White made 93, his highest Test Score, in the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan. I would put this down to his willingness to attack the spin bowlers, whereas many other England batsmen may just stand in the crease defending. This unsettles bowlers and gives him more bad balls to hit.
His bowling, probably his strong point has improved massively in recent times - he regularly bowls over 85mph, while his bouncer and yorker can go over 90mph. This is obviously a big advantage. His slower ball is excellent, stemming from the days when he bowled off-spin. White is also a good fielder, useful in both Test matches and One Day Internationals.
Craig White will be paramount to England's success in Pakistan for the rest of the winter and is not far from establishing himself as a world-class all rounder.