Despondent White hints at retirement

Craig White's hopes of making an England comeback appear to have been dashed yet again after he broke down with a recurrence of the muscle strain which sidelined him for much of the winter.

White, who underwent surgery on his ribs at the start of the season, left the field during Yorkshire's National League match against Surrey on Sunday. "It has been sore since I started bowling against Somerset at Taunton, but I knew and I was just hoping it would gradually get better," White told the Yorkshire Post. "I tried to bowl a bouncer at Mark Butcher but as soon as I had released the ball I had excruciating pain in the same area. It was as if someone had stabbed me with a knife."

White will be examined by Yorkshire's physio later today at which time it is expected that the nature of the injury will become clearer. "We don't know the full extent of his injury, but even if it is bad it will be a case of taking the appropriate course of action and giving him the correct treatment," explained Geoff Cope, Yorkshire's director of cricket. "We just hope it isn't as bad as it looks."

But White, who has been dogged by a series of injuries in recent years, hinted that if the strain is serious then he might reconsider his career. "I love the game and although I knew that the rib operation was quite a major thing I decided to go through with it to prolong my career for a couple of years or so," he told the Yorkshire Post. "But there is only so much hurting anyone can take."