"Shock" White
The enigmatic "Shock" White (dates of birth and death unknown) was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Middlesex. He has famously been mistaken for Thomas "Daddy" White but there is no doubt at all that he was a different player altogether. His first name and the source of his nickname are unknown. He lived in Brentford and was a member of the local club.
Shock White is first mentioned in the Whitehall Evening Post on Sat 26 September 1761. In the Chertsey v Hampton game at Laleham Burway on the following Monday, Hampton were to have Charles Sears, John Haynes and "Shock" White as given men.
Shock White has often been described as the culprit in the Monster Bat Incident 1771 but it has been conclusively proved that the wide bat was used by his namesake "Daddy" White of Reigate. He was twice mentioned by the Daily Advertiser in 1773 as "Shock White of Brentford". Furthermore, while Shock played at Tothill Fields for Westminster versus London on Wednesday 18 August 1773, Daddy was simultaneously playing for Surrey v Kent at Sevenoaks Vine!
There are no statistics for Shock White's career and all we definitely know of him is that he was ACTIVE between 1761 and 1773.
External links
References
- Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley (FL18)
- The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn (WDC)
- The Glory Days of Cricket by Ashley Mote (GDC)
- John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time" by Ashley Mote
- Hambledon: Men and Myths by John Goulstone (HMM)