Thomas White (cricketer, born c. 1740)
Thomas "Daddy" White was an English cricketer who 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 and 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 Reigate in Surrey. There has been confusion in some accounts between him and Shock White of Brentford, in Middlesex. 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.
The incident has long been believed to have occurred when White was playing for Chertsey versus Hambledon at Laleham Burway, but it has been argued that the incident took place in a different match on a different ground. In any case, the incident brought about a change in the 1774 version of the Laws of Cricket 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 and the width issue may have been rankling. His motive remains a mystery but the Hambledon objection has been preserved by Marylebone Cricket Club. The Laws were formally changed in 1774.