Ireland cricket legend Andrew White still proving his class at 42 by helping Instonians progress in Irish Senior Cup with impressive win over Malahide

The Shaws Bridge outfit reached 216/8 after winning the toss and electing to bat with Cade Carmichael (39) and Daniel Rose (35) leading the way before a sensational bowling performance secured safe progression.

Rose (3/7 from seven overs) kicked the defence off by picking up a wicket with just his second ball before White joined the party, collecting figures of 4/22 as the Leinster-based side were bowled out for 93 inside 32 overs.

The hosts were packed full of quality with the likes of Jamie Grassi, James Newland, David O’Halloran, Alistair Frost and former Ireland international Peter Chase in their ranks, but they proved no match for Instonians, who continued a superb start to the 2023 campaign following a disappointing one last time out.

They finished eighth in the 2022 Robinson Services Premier League standings but sit top of the pile this season after winning three of their first four matches.

"The nature of where we were over the last few years we gave a lot of opportunities to younger players and for numerous reasons, be it university for three or four of them, they are over in England,” said White. “James Hunter decided he would get better opportunities elsewhere.

"It's nearly back to a number of years ago when the age profile is a bit older and with that you have more experience in your side.

"We have no injuries to report this year which is the first time in a number of seasons and we haven't been affected by representative call-ups as of yet so have been at full strength.

"We were missing Shane Dadswell yesterday who has made a really positive impact on the club both on and off the field. We do have all areas covered.

"We're confident and playing some great cricket. In the 50-over games we've played so far nobody has come close to putting us under pressure and we've won comfortably.

"It's trying to do what good teams do and maintain that form, discipline and when you do lose a few players to representative duty what impact does that have on us? Do we have the strength in depth to really challenge?"

White is a legend of Irish cricket, picking up 125 wickets and scoring 4,560 runs during his 232 matches for the senior international side, and is still going strong aged 42 – that’ll tick over to 43 on July 3.

His bowling average of 4.42 is the best of any player in the Premier League (who has bowled more than one over) and with Nikolai Smith taking over the captaincy, White is able to enjoy more freedom.

"I still love the competitive element,” he added. “I know I'm not as consistent or prolific as I once was but I still love competing.

"I love the way the young lads are driving the team forward and I'm there in the background for a bit of advice or guidance.

"Captaincy was a big responsibility coming through the past few seasons with the younger players, with Covid and that probably took its toll on my performances a bit. I'm feeling fresh and really enjoying the buzz around the club.

"(Captaincy is) not the responsibility of playing but the responsibility to younger players. There's a responsibility to give those guys the right guidance and right opportunities at the right time.

"I think younger players nowadays feel they have a right to play or demand a place in the first team. With that they have an expectation of where they should bat or bowl and it's trying to manage, and sometimes it's not even managing the expectation of the boys but of parents, because everybody in today's society wants everything now.

"What does success look like? When I was coming through at North Down guys had to score runs in the seconds to earn a place in the first team and I don't know if it's society or cricket in general that it's much easier to get into a first team than it once was.

"They have expectations and dealing with that was the biggest challenge for me coming through as captain. It's nice to be back in the ranks as a player but I have the responsibility to help those around me, which I enjoy."

Despite their early success, White isn’t thinking about competing for silverware just yet but instead is focused on helping the side build on the solid foundations that have been created.

"We start off the season just trying to win a game of cricket,” he said. “We were in the bottom four last season and winning was really difficult.

"We lost games that we should have won and we're just trying to find a tempo for playing, string a few wins together and find consistency.

"We've gone through a few seasons of rebuilding and lets see where we are in a month's time because ultimately the next couple of weeks with cup competitions will give you an indication of what you can and can't challenge for.

"The league I would say is very much dependent on representative call-ups and we haven't even discussed winning or challenging for trophies. It's exciting to start winning again.

"Malahide have a great set-up and were a very good outfit. It was brilliant to play a game of cricket at that standard. It was hard cricket played in excellent spirit and everybody really enjoyed going down there and winning.

"It's onto Ballymena now on Saturday (in the Challenge Cup) and we have to treat them with as much respect as we did Malahide."