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A day in the life of an umpire... (Long)
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14-07-2008 10:24am#1Join Date:Posts: 2356
Following on from this thread (I don't need much encouragement
) here's an account of a typical day in the life of a cricket umpire.
I'm happy to answer any queries or questions on this, so long as they are constructive and don't lead to a load of complaining!
A day in the life…
The name: TrueDub, our intrepid hero, Leinster umpire
The game: Cricket – Leinster Senior 4 League
This is a true-to-life account of umpiring a cricket match in Leinster. All league names, club names, locations, player names etc. are fictitious and any resemblance to people alive or dead will be denied totally…
Four times a season, you tell the Appointments Secretary which days in the next six weeks or so you’re available to umpire matches, and in return you receive a sheet detailing your appointments – date, place, teams, colleague etc.
Today I’m due to stand in Walshetown CC, umpiring their 3rd XI against the 2nd XI of Marchville CC, with Phillip Phillips as my colleague.
I head off into the late Saturday-morning traffic, knowing that for a 1pm start I need to be at the ground no less than 45 minutes beforehand (mandated in the Laws), and it’s better to be an hour early. Of course, this will probably mean I’ll be first there, but that’s the way it goes.
On arrival I meet Phil, my colleague, who I’ve stood with before. We embark on our pre-match duties, firstly donning our kit (dark trousers, white Association polo top, white Association jacket), then delivering the team nomination forms to whichever members of the teams have arrived, then embarking on our tour of the ground.
We stroll round the boundary, chatting amiably but looking for oddities like gaps in the line, flags in the wrong place and paying particular care to the placing of the sight-screens (they must be wholly outside the boundary). Some grounds have a rope around the boundary, which makes the umps’ life easier, but this one doesn’t, so we make sure there are plenty of markers, and that we know the line’s passage around the ground.
Next we have a look at the pitch itself. Fortunately the week preceding the match has been dry, so there are no concerns about the square, and the groundsman has been diligent, repairing older pitches and marking this one correctly. The fielding circle is checked too, to ensure all distances are correct. At this point we bump into and chat to the groundsman, letting him know we’re happy with the ground and complimenting him on his preparation.
It’s now 12:30, and time for the toss. We extract the two captains from the dressing-room or fielding practice, and head back to the pitch. We collect the match balls & team nomination cards (insurance requirement, no play without these!) and observe the toss. Once it’s done, we note the result & who’s doing what, then we go over the regulations with captains – number of overs, drinks breaks, overs per bowler, one-day wides etc. Finally we remind them that we want a hard but fair game, and wish them both luck.
We can now relax for a few minutes until play starts. The intervening time is spent assembling the multitude of things we need to bring onto the field (pens, overs cards, Laws reminders, counters, bowlers’ markers, drying cloths etc.) and agreeing the signals we’ll use between ourselves. These aren’t the ones to the scorers, which are mandated by Law, they’re the ones we use to each other to indicate things like two to go the over, whether a ball passed the batsman over waist or shoulder height, and how far out of his ground he’s standing. If there were non-playing scorers, we’d meet & chat to them too, but for this game there aren’t. We also swap knowledge of the two teams, allowing us to anticipate any issues and agree how to deal with them.
At 12:55 we ring the bell to let the players know we’re on our way, and head for the middle. I decide to stand at the Road End (cunning, this, it means the wind is at my back!) and we put the bails on the stumps. I visually check the stumps at Phil’s end, as he does to mine, then I give the bowler my marker to mark his run-up, as they’re opening from my end. I note the bowler’s name on my overs card, for future reference.
When the batsmen arrive, I give the opener his guard, then inform him of the bowler’s action. When all are settled, I count the fielders (can’t be more than 11, and if there’s less I’ll query it), check that the scorers are ready, and that Phil’s ready. After this it’s a loud call of “Play!”, and we’re off…
Each ball in the over is treated the same – watch the bowler’s feet as they land in his delivery stride, making sure there’s no foot-fault no-balls, then pick up the line of the ball as early as possible. Watch the batsman play it, or not. React to each ball appropriately – it might be a wide or a no-ball, he might hit it for 4 or 6, it might be byes or leg-byes, you might need to move to the side to watch for run-outs & correct grounding. Complete all the relevant signals to the scorer. Then there’s the oddities that might happen – leg-byes with no shot to be disallowed, a run-out opportunity.
When there’s two left in the over, I signal to Phil, who confirms. We’ve been glancing at each other nearly every ball, and there’s a lot of silent communication going on. Two legal balls later, I call “Over”, and linger for a moment to fill out my overs card.
Strolling out to square leg, I take a mental note of where the fielders are, and confirm visually when I get there that the fielding restrictions (both Law & regulation) are being met. For each ball I watch the bowler’s action, observe the batsman playing the ball, and watch the action unfold, again looking for the oddities and specifics we must pick up. Each ball is counted, and I confirm Phil’s signal for two left.
The first innings continues in this fashion, with the odd disturbance in the routine – wickets falling, bowling changes, fielding changes, easing of fielding restrictions. At each event, we must check that all is within the Laws & regulations, and take note of everything for later reference. Time has to be monitored too, as the bowling side must complete its 50 overs in 200 minutes, with severe penalties for failing to do so.
This is a 100-over match, 50 overs to each side, so drinks are taken after 25 overs in the innings, giving a brief respite to the umpires. It’s tough to concentrate hard for all that time, so you must learn to “switch down” when the ball is dead, and “switch up” when it becomes live again. This is the toughest aspect to umpiring.
After 50 overs, the first innings ends – Walshetown have made 239/7. We remove the bails, collect our markers, complete the overs card and head for the pavilion. A quick word to the scorers, to confirm the innings score, and it’s time for a cuppa and a sandwich, not to mention a sit-down – most welcome. Umpires will sit & chat for a while during tea – this is a handy time to pick up on tips or suggestions on your performance so far.
Five minutes before the start time, we again move to the middle. We take the same ends, and perform the same checks as before on the stumps, number of players, fielding restrictions etc.
The second innings continues on its way, with the batting side operating under a bit of pressure, as they’re chasing 240 in 50 overs. This shouldn’t be beyond them, but they need to keep up with the rate. As umpires we don’t care about the state of the game – you treat each ball the same, and try to ensure you make the best decisions you can when you’re asked to do so.
This pressure on the batting side introduces an added complication though. The fielding side are well aware of it, and the level of comment on the run-rate rises noticeably. One of the change bowlers is a stroppy Antipodean, who wastes no time getting into the batsman’s ear about his lack of scoring strokes.
Myself & Phil have discussed this exact possibility, and exchange glances as soon as it commences. None of the comments are over the top, or abusive, but after the 3rd comment, I decide to step in. At the end of the over I hand the bowler his cap, while saying to him “Take it easy on the chat to the batsman, we don’t need it”. He looks at me, and says nothing.
In his next over, he’s at it again. I approach Phil at the end of the over & we agree to have a word with the fielding captain. We call him over, and the bowler, and explain that we’re not interested in listening to a growing argument on the pitch. We ask the bowler to just bowl, and ask the captain to ensure he does just that. Both agree, and the game progresses. Reining it in seems to work for the bowler, as he takes a couple of wickets to change the game.
This may seem like a heavy-handed approach, but hard experience has taught us that nipping a situation in the bud like this can help ensure that there’s no further incidents in the innings, ensuring a fair game and no visits to the Disciplinary Committee for anyone.
At the drinks break, the batting team are well short of the required rate, on 80 for 5, and the game seems over. Phil reminds me that it’s at this sort of stage that umpires can switch off and make mistakes, and that we need to keep going right to the last ball.
How right he is, as a wicket falls in the over after drinks, and this brings the batting team’s hit-or-miss player to the crease. Today’s a hit day for him, and he sets about the bowling with gusto, thumping everything through the line. His score quickly mounts, bringing the run-rate into line, but he keeps losing partners, not least because his calling is somewhat questionable. This keeps us very busy, signalling fours & sixes, adjudicating on runout decisions and generally keeping the game moving.
The upshot of all this is that we reach the last two overs with the batting side on 222 for 9 – all three results still possible. This is a time of major stress for everyone involved, not least the umpires. Myself & Phil confer and remind each other that we don’t want the game decided by a mistake by one of us.
The second-last over has it all: first ball is swished for 4 over mid-wicket (14 to win), second ball is played at and missed, third ball clipped behind point for 2 (12 to win). The fourth ball is dug out of the blockhole by the batsman, a beautiful delivery from the bowler. On the fifth ball, the batsman plays at the ball & misses, and it slaps into his front pad. There’s an enormous appeal for LBW from all eleven fielders (how 3rd Man could tell is beyond me). I give it plenty of thought, then turn it down because it hit the batsman outside the line of off stump, and he was playing a shot. The bowler is NOT happy, but I’m happy I made the right decision. On the last ball, a single is scampered to ensure the hitting batsman has the strike.
Six balls to go, 11 to win. I’m at square leg, but I know I’ll be busy as these guys will be running everything. The first ball is clipped for two, but the second is only a single. The number 11 batsman is on strike, with 4 balls to go and 8 runs required. The third delivery is a beauty, far too good for a number 11, and he plays all around it, hearing his stumps being shattered followed by a huge roar from the fielders.
Final scores: 240 plays 232. A top game, played in a reasonable spirit.
We shake hands with the batsmen & the fielding side, then collect our bowlers markers and the stumps, and head for the pavilion. The fielding side line up to shake hands with the batting side, and we join the line at the end to shake hands with the batters. Myself & Phil share a handshake too – a job well done.
While getting changed, we discuss the game – where it was won & lost, who stood out by their contributions and which players were below par, but mostly we review decisions we made and approaches we took. He gives me some honest feedback on my performance, and I do the same to him – this is the best way to learn.
Street clothes on, we head for the bar and a deserved pint. We fill out the required paperwork for the Leinster Cricket Union (match report, ground report – no need for disciplinary reports thankfully). After a chat about life in general, and cricket in particular, we head our separate ways, to do it all again soon…
So why would you bother giving up your afternoon to do this sometimes-thankless job? I do it because I enjoy it – it’s a challenge to umpire a match is such a way that it’s conducted correctly, but without being so officious you spoil it. It’s also the best place in the world to watch cricket from. Many umpires are ex-players who want to stay involved in the game, while others simply like the concept of getting involved in a new sport and find umpiring a way to do that.
If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to contact me!1
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