Wicketkeeper batter Sam Whiteman has become the second Australian in the last month to give up his hopes of playing international cricket for Australia in favour of joining the English county circuit.
Whiteman has signed a three-year all-format contract for Yorkshire ahead of the 2025 season, and will join Headingley at the end of the domestic season in Australia. He will be available as a domestic player for Yorkshire, meaning he will have to register as an overseas player in Australian domestic competitions next year, and will be ineligible for Australia selection under ICC rules.
Yorkshire CCC is delighted to announce the signing of wicketkeeper-batter Sam Whiteman ✍️
— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) January 8, 2026
The three-time Sheffield Shield and Big Bash League winner will join his home county on a three-year deal.
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Who is Sam Whiteman?
While he was born in South Yorkshire in England, Whiteman emigrated to Western Australia when he was three and came through the Australian domestic system. He played six youth ODIs for Australia U19s in 2009 but has never played a senior international match for Australia.
He made his first-class debut opening the batting for Western Australia against Victoria in 2012, and scored his maiden hundred in the format playing for Australia A against India A in 2014. He scored 174 batting at No.8, and shared a 371-run partnership with Mitchell Marsh, which is still the third-highest seventh-wicket partnership in first-class cricket of all time. The following season, Whiteman made his first Sheffield Shield century, hitting 120 against Queensland in Brisbane. Whiteman has scored 6,930 first-class runs including 17 hundreds. He captained Western Australia to Sheffield Shield wins in 2023 and 2024.
Whiteman has also played 72 List A games, with a batting average of 32.50 and one century. He also had a stint at Northamptonshire in 2023, in which he scored two hundreds.
Why are Australians signing as domestic players in county cricket?
Whiteman is the second Australian in quick succession to sign for an English county as a domestic player. Last month, Jake Lehmann – son of former Australia men's head coach and current Northants head coach, Darren – announced he would use his English passport to play for Hampshire.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo on giving up his ambitions of playing for Australia, Lehmann said: "That [playing for Australia] was always the dream and the goal, but only a small number of people get to do it [play for Australia]. Unfortunately, I haven't got to do it, but I'm also grateful to have played first-class cricket for the last 12 years and to give back to Australian cricket in some way."
Playing as a domestic player in another country's domestic system is an avenue unavailable to most, but it's made possible by Whiteman and Lehmann's status as British passport holders. Both aged 33, their chances of winning Australia national selection was slim, while playing in county cricket doesn't preclude their involvement in the Sheffield Shield, just their status as domestic players.
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