Vale Graham Whyte

Whyte, 72, (pictured above third from right in the back row) passed away last week after a long illness.

A right-handed bat and right-arm off-spinner, Whyte played 44 first class matches and nine one-day games for Queensland in a career that spanned a decade.

He represented his State between 1974-75 and 1984-85, playing in Sheffield Shield and Gillette Cup finals during that period.

Whtye scored 1033 runs for Queensland, with a highest score of 93. He had five half centuries with his hgher scores inevitably coming as part of important lower order partnerships for Queensland. He claimed 73 first class wickets, both as the sole slow bowler in the side or in partnership with the likes of Malcolm Francke.

He first came to prominence for Norths, earning selection in the Queensland Colts team, often a pre-cursor to higher honours with Queensland.

He made his first class debut at the Gabba against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club team on the 1974-75 Ashes tour, taking three wickets.

The 1976-77 summer saw him take 14 wickets at 35, with a career best 6–65 against WA.  He followed that with an ever better effort the following season in 1977–78, taking 25 wickets at 32.48. 

With Australia's depth heavily challenged by the advent of World Series Cricket, Whyte was canvassed as a potential slow bowling choice for the new-look Test line-up. He was considered an unlucky omission from the West Indies tour in 1978 when his clever variety was regarded as a good fit for the West Indian pitches. 

The following summer saw his bowling returns dip, and did not play first class cricket from March 1979 to October 1983.

He was recalled to the Queensland side in October 1983 and went on to take 20 wickets at 40.80 that summer.

Whyte played in the 1983-84 Shield final where Queensland travelled to Perth with high hopes only to lose to the home side by four wickets in an high-quality match. Whyte passed 1000 career runs in the game, and took 3-28 in the second innings. 

He played two more first class games in 1984–85 as well as three one-day games against the touring West Indian and Sri Lankan teams.

He captain-coached the Colts team in the Queensland Premier Cricket first grade competition and his post-playing days saw him become a highly-regarded coach around the State.

He was part of the Palm Beach-Currumbin club and coached Gold Coast representative teams for several seasons, while he was a regular and well-known mentor to many young players from the Far North Queensland area, including Queensland regular and later West indian Test player Brendan Nash.

Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson said Whyte had made a valuable contribution to cricket throughout the State.

"On behalf of the wider cricket community, we express our condolences to his family and friends. He was a fine player, a generous coach, hard-working volunteer and a firm supporter of the game,'' Svenson said.

Queensland Country Cricket President Kev Maher, a former teammate and close friend, paid tribute to Whtye's work as a coach in regional Queensland over more than a decade.

"He was very well thought of and certainly exposed talented young players in the regions to the best coaching techniques that enabled them to flourish in their careers,'' he said. "Far North Queensland was just one of the many centres that benefitted greatly from his insights and skills."

"Graham's coaching was a beneft to the game through Queensland, and we are saddened to lose such a generous and insightful person who was a good friend to many in our sport."