Association of Cricket Officials Issue 28 | Page 24

Your Letters (continued) Malcolm Howard, Surrey ACO Answered by Glyn Pearson, ECB ACO Education Manager I have been advocating for a few years now that all young wicketkeepers should wear a helmet wherever they are standing. I have never met an umpire who disagrees with me in this regard; now I have the support of a full-time coach (issue 27, page 24). It is all very well for the ECB ACO to say that umpires should err on the side of caution when we do NOT have the authority to do so. The Laws clearly state that young wicketkeepers only have to wear a helmet when standing up to the wicket. This problem will only be resolved if the Laws are changed by one of two ways: (i) All young wicketkeepers must wear a helmet; or (ii) It is within the umpires’ discretion to determine what is meant by standing up to the wicket in the given circumstances. As the Laws stand, we cannot force a young wicketkeeper to wear a helmet unless he is standing within an inch of the wicket. I can well understand Malcolm’s concerns for the welfare of young players, but two points need to be understood to start with: 1 There is no MCC Law regarding the wearing of helmets by young players, and MCC has no intention of introducing such a Law as part of the rewrite of the Laws currently being undertaken. 2 The Safety Guidance on the Wearing of Cricket Helmets by Young Players is a document issued by the ECB (not ECB ACO). It therefore applies only to non-First Class cricket in England and Wales, and has no effect in any other country. The Guidance states ‘young wicketkeepers must wear a helmet with a faceguard, or a wicketkeeper face protector, when standing up to the stumps’. It is, therefore, as Mr Howard states, within the umpires’ discretion to determine what is meant by standing up to the wicket in given circumstances, and the umpires can insist that a young wicketkeeper wears a helmet with a faceguard or a face protector if they feel that he/she is standing up to the stumps. There is no mention of ‘within an inch’. As stated in issues 26 and 27 of the magazine, the umpires should agree with the captains regarding its application. Should a captain refuse to comply with the Guidance, the umpires should follow the procedure in Law 21.3(b) (umpires awarding a match). Course for South Asian Umpires in Bradford ECB Directives and Guidelines On 18 and 25 February, Yorkshire ACO hosted an umpire Level 1 course for members of the South Asian community in Bradford. With this issue of the magazine, members will have received copies of the ECB Directives and Guidelines. Whilst most of these remain the same, there are alterations to two of them. The course was organised by Taj Butt, Community Development Officer at Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and John Overton, Project Officer at ECB, as part of the ECB South Asian Project. The tutors were Philip Radcliffe, North Region ECB ACO Chairman and Glyn Pearson, ECB ACO Education Manager. The ECB Fast Bowling Match Directives now include a paragraph stating: Hopefully, cricket and umpiring in the area will be able to benefit from the increased representation of members from the South Asian community. In matches of 20 overs or less per team where the competition regulations only allow bowlers to bowl less than or equal to the number of overs specified as the maximum in a spell in the Directives, the provisions requiring an equivalent number of overs from the same end to have elapsed before a subsequent spell can commence shall not apply (eg in any age group competition where a maximum of four overs per bowler is allowed, these may be bowled at any time in the innings, irrespective of the number of spells bowled). Thanks go to Manningham Mills Cricket Club for the use of their facilities and for providing the excellent catering. In practice, this will remove most 20 overs matches from the provisions of the Directive. This was the second such course to be held in Bradford and, once again, the organisers and tutors were impressed with the enthusiasm, passion and commitment shown by the attendees. Nineteen potential umpires took part, all of whom passed the Level 1 exam on the final afternoon and submitted their applications to join ECB ACO. There was a lot of positive feedback from the attendees. One, Asif Jawed, commented: ‘I really enjoyed the course and both tutors were brilliant. I learned something new about umpiring which I didn’t know before.’ The ECB Guidelines for Junior Players in Open Age Cricket have been redesigned, but the content remains the same, subject to the additional request that clubs and captains should involve junior players in all aspects of the game whenever possible. It also emphasises the need for captains to inform the umpires of all players aged under 18 in the side. This should, of course, be noted on the ECB Team Sheet. 24 email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710