Sam Whiteman (Australian cricketer)

Sam McFarlane Whiteman (born 19 March 1992) is an Australian cricketer currently contracted to Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers. He has also played for Australia A. Whiteman is a wicket-keeper who bats left-handed.

Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Whiteman emigrated with his family to Western Australia at an early age, and was raised in Bunbury, in the state's south-west region. Playing cricket from an early age, he toured England with an Australian Schools under-16 representative team during the 2007 English cricket season, aged 15. Whiteman played representative cricket for Western Australia at both under-17 and under-19 level, and also played several games for the Australian under-19 cricket team in 2009, against the Indian and Sri Lankan under-19 teams. In 2010, he was awarded the Adam Gilchrist Cricket Development Scholarship, which allowed him to spend the 2010 season playing for the Weybridge Cricket Club in the Surrey Championship, as well as playing several Second XI matches for the Surrey County Cricket Club. He led Weybridge's runs totals during the season, scoring 572 runs at an average of 44.00.

Having also played for Western Australia's under-23 side in the Futures League, Whiteman was awarded a Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) rookie contract for the 2012–13 season. He made his debut for Western Australia in the 2012–13 Ryobi One-Day Cup against New South Wales, scoring 31 runs. His first half-century, an innings of 74, came in a Ryobi Cup match against South Australia, and was Western Australia's highest score of the match. Whiteman's highest score at first-class level, 96 runs, was achieved opening the batting against Tasmania in November 2012. Although usually playing as a wicket-keeper, Whiteman played his first few matches at state level as a specialist batsman, although towards the end of the season he took over from Tom Triffitt as Western Australia's first-choice wicket-keeper. At grade cricket level, Whiteman plays for the Rockingham-Mandurah District Cricket Club, having made his first-grade debut during the 2007–08 season, at the age of 15.