He played for Sandwich Town Cricket Club before the war and had an unsuccessful trial with Kent in 1938 at the age of 16.
He transferred to the 3rd battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment in Kenya and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, serving in Madagascar and Abyssinia.
The regiment was sent to India in 1944 and Witherden saw active service as part of the 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade in the Arakan area during the Burma campaign.
[8][9][10] In the following match, Witherden made 8 and 51 against Warwickshire at Maidstone, and the following day scored 100, his only other first-class century, in three hours in an innings victory over Worcestershire on the same ground.
[3] After 1955 he left Kent and joined the minor county Norfolk, where he played as their professional for seven seasons, replacing Cecil Boswell.
[15][19] In his seven seasons with Norfolk, Witherden played 76 Minor County matches, scoring 4,794 runs at an average of 45.65, with 13 centuries, and taking 104 wickets at 21.15.
[19] Witherden was released by Norfolk with a year to run on his contract in order to take up the post of head groundsman at Bishop's Stortford College in 1963.