White out: Victoria cut loose the Bear

Victoria have confirmed they have no place for veteran Cameron White in their 2019-20 contract list, parting ways with the 35-year-old nicknamed 'The Bear' after a career that spanned 19 seasons 

White made his Victoria debut late in the 2000-01 summer as an 18-year-old and played 135 of his 177 first-class games with Victoria but had been moved to the fringes of the state team in recent times. He was a late inclusion in the state's playing XI for the triumphant 2019 JLT Sheffield Shield final after an injury to Nic Maddinson.

Victoria's general manager of cricket, Shaun Graf, said not offering White a new contract was "a very hard decision".

"The list management decision-making process has not been an easy one," Graf said in a statement. "Naturally we've looked at the depth in our squad, the talented youth emerging and the international availability of our senior players next season. As a result, we've had to make a very hard decision on Cameron's playing tenure with Victoria.

"Cameron has been one of the great success stories in recent decades of Victorian cricket. He was recognised as a talented junior from Bairnsdale and went on to represent Australia at every level. He has been a terrific servant and leader in Victorian cricket over his career.

"It's a credit to Cameron's ability, longevity and character that he's achieved all he has, and the impact that he's had on the next generation of Victorian cricketers coming through the ranks has been invaluable."

White was hailed by rising batsman Will Pucovski, who said the veteran had been a massive influence on a batsman earmarked for a Baggy Green cap.

"He's been massive for me, he's really taken me under his wing since I first came into the system," the prodigiously talented 21-year-old said.

"He's been a huge support on and off the field, which has been massive.

"He's a super player and a super bloke as well."

Victoria captain Travis Dean had called for the state to keep White on, a call that has ultimately fallen on deaf ears.

"Hopefully he gets another year, he's great around the group. He's great for me personally, he's great for Will Pucovski," Dean said in the wake of the state's Shield triumph in March.

"Whether he's giving advice in the nets or he's out in the field there giving a few ideas, he's always thinking.

"He's the smartest cricketer I know. To have him around is great for Victoria and great for Cricket Australia too because he's producing players going forward."

White, as parochial a cricketer there is, said earlier this year there was no chance he would move interstate to prolong his first-class career.

He is, however, expected to carry on playing in the KFC BBL but not with either of the Melbourne-based clubs and instead suit up in the orange of the Perth Scorchers for BBL|09.

Victorians Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Glenn Maxwell and James Pattinson all received Cricket Australia central contracts for the 2019-20 season.

Victoria will publicly reveal their full contract list in the coming days but have been reported to have offered a rookie deal to Sam Elliott, the son of state stalwart Matthew Elliott.

White was Victoria's longest serving and most successful captain, leading Victoria in 77 first-class and 73 List A matches between 2003-2018. He was part of six Sheffield Shield winning teams in 2003-04, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2015-16, 2016-17 and this past summer and three of those came as captain.

He, along with Marcus Harris and Chris Tremain, are the only three people to have won the one-day cup, Shield and BBL titles all in the same summer.

From his 135 Shield games with Victoria White scored 7,453 runs at 36.17 including 11 centuries and 45 half-centuries, while in his 120 List A matches he amassed 3,643 runs at 37.55 with seven centuries and 22 half-centuries.

He won state T20 titles in the days before the BBL in 2005-06 and 2007-08, is a four-time recipient of the Dean Jones Medal as Victoria's One-Day Player of the Season and won the Bill Lawry Medal as Victoria's First-Class Player of the Season in 2013-14.

The 35-year-old also played four Tests, 91 ODIs and 47 T20 matches for Australia.