Round 10 is the two-thirds mark of the season, and as we sat around the unlit fire and mused on how rapidly the time moves, Umpires Coach Brian Benny Goodman wondered whether there was time enough for umpires to pick up on a couple of things. WE think so, YES, and ALSO, it’s time for umps to make their availability for the upcoming T20s clear.
i. Counting Fair deliveries
ii. Bowlers’ limits - what to do if we get it wrong
iii. Spirit of Cricket – we need your comments
iv. Availability - Accepting an appointment, rejecting an appointment
v. T20 – IMPORTANT - CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE
vi Custody of match balls
Counting Fair Deliveries
This is our basic skill – right? Still, there’s barely a one of us that at some stage has not made a slight error. We can overcome most of the slip-ups with regular communication with our partners – re-confirming balls remaining after wides, no balls etc., and with two to go.
If confusion over the count arises, Brian’s advice – reach out to the scorers – there’s no shame in checking, and in any case even if there were, it would be nothing compared with getting the end of over wrong, especially if a significant event should occur on the “dreaded seventh”.
Field technique tip: if either you or your partner miss a check after an extra or with two to go, don’t panic or get cross– just keep your big boy pants on and catch up quietly on the next delivery. Players will pick up poor teamwork and this can affect their confidence in you and your partner.
Bowlers’ Limits – captains rely on us to have accurate information about individual bowler’s limits as an aid to managing their attack. Whether you use a notebook or an over count card, it’s important that when you are recording individual bowler’s overs you identify the number of the over. That allows you to identify where any mistake in the count began, and so to correct it.
Please don’t simply keep a tally of crosses against each bowler – rather, write the number of the over for every over throughout the innings. You may well find that this helps your overall concentration, too, by keeping you more “in the moment”.
If a bowler goes beyond the limit set out in the playing conditions (VSDCA Handbook Rule 17), as soon as the error is detected, umpires will, when the ball is dead, instruct the fielding captain to remove the bowler and have another player complete the deliveries remaining.
By way of an extrapolation of Law 17.5, any balls delivered up to the point of discovery, and any action arising from those deliveries, will stand.
Spirit of Cricket – please, comment on every team, every match.
Availability
Accepting or rejecting an appointment
If your availability has changed and you are unable to accept your appointment, PLEASE……Contact Neill directly call or SMS 0419 881 226, AND reject the appointment in OfficialsHQ.
T20 – IMPORTANT - CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE
With no play possible in Round One of our T20 Twilight Competition, the Board has decided on the following fixture changes:
Round 2 will be played on Tuesday January 16 [No change to fixture].
Round 1 will now be played on Tuesday January 23.
Round 3 to be played on Tuesday January 30.
Semi Finals to be played on Tuesday February 6.
Final to be played on Tuesday February 13.
The Round One fixtures in Play HQ have been updated to reflect this date change.
Because of these changes, new umpire appointments will be made for all Rounds.
Therefore PLEASE go to OfficialsHQ and update your availability for those dates. Update solely for the Twilight T20, and not for J G Craig. The Craig appointments have been made and will stand.
Custody of match balls. Our work is not done when the final wicket falls or the winning runs are scored – immediately either of those events occurs, amid the whooping and hollering on the one hand the gnashing of teeth on the other, our task is to take the match ball, mark it up with overs bowled, and secure it in the umpire rooms for later collection by the home team. Used balls are valuable for clubs as either future spares or practice resources; our task is to secure them for the home clubs.
It’s Round 10 – don’t forget - do your best, and have fun!
Neill Murray
VSDCA Appointment Manager
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