so just leave the bowler’ s name blank in the How Out section of the scoresheet and put a dot( or H) in the bowling section. In the unlikely event that any runs were attempted during this type of scenario, any runs completed before the incident will count.
Richard gives a very sensible explanation of how to deal with any uncertain incident that may crop up, which highlights the importance of working together with the umpires by mention of an unofficial signal( pointing to a hand). Additional signals such as these can help tremendously to identify how a player was dismissed( LBW or Caught Behind), but they will only work if the umpire thinks to give them and the scorer is looking. Teamwork in such circumstances can be invaluable and this is something that could be discussed at a pre-match meeting between scorers and umpires.
Many thanks to Richard for his response. If anyone else would like to comment on teamwork between scorers and umpires, or has a question to pose for future issues, please let me know via scorer. aco @ ecb. co. uk
I wish you a sunny and busy season and hope to see many of you on the edge of a cricket field in 2017.
Sue Drinkwater Scorer Education Manager
As well as sharing regional information, the Committee has also been involved in the developments in electronic scoring, especially with the software for DLS becoming more widely available. As more and more leagues are taking advantage of enhanced technology to broadcast live scores, and with Play Cricket platform usage becoming mandatory, scoring has become even more important to First XIs in particular. The Committee is continually monitoring developments and looking for ways to enhance the role of the scorer at club level. Additionally, it has also been providing input into the development of the latest scoring app, Play Cricket Scorer, which ECB has created.
The Scorer Sub-Committee is accessible to all ACO members and you can get in touch with it by emailing scorer. aco @ ecb. co. uk or via your RSO.
Christmas Challenge 2016 – The Result
There was a welcome increase in the number of entries for last year’ s Christmas Challenge( 62 in total), 15 of which were correct. Twelve of these entries came from readers of
Notchers’ News, and the remaining 50 from ACO members.
Solution
|
Notchers’ News |
Scratchers |
1 |
129 |
140 |
2 |
4 |
47 |
3 |
3 |
97 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
102 |
45 |
6 |
12 |
0 |
7 |
85 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
9 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
Extras |
15 |
3 |
Total |
373 |
355 |
Result: Notchers’ News won by 18 runs
The majority of the questions presented our entrants with very few problems, but there were two in the Notchers’ XI that required further comment.
Notchers 2 asked: How many separate signals would you expect the umpire to make after the striker ducks( to avoid being hit by a no ball), the ball hits his helmet and runs away to the boundary? The expected answer is four – signal no ball, repeat signal when ball is dead, signal bye to show striker did not hit the ball, and signal boundary four. There were 39 entrants who did not give the expected answer. The majority of them answered three signals, but the question asked how many‘ separate’( not different) signals would you expect. Another competitor, with whom I had an interesting dialogue, felt that a pre-signal should be expected so that the scorers would know that a bye signal was to follow. I did not include this since a pre-signal is not an official signal, and I would not expect it to be given after the call and signal of no ball. It is an interesting point, perhaps worthy of a ruling from above!
There were 23 errors for Notchers’ extras when competitors were asked to say who should face the next ball after the non-striker was run out at the striker’ s end after the batsmen had run for what would have been illegal leg byes. The law tells us that the batsmen should be returned to their original ends after they have both made good their ground. Since the non-striker failed to make good his ground, there is no need for the striker to be sent back, and the incoming batsman would face the next ball.
In Notchers 6, three people claimed that a bat is made of two pieces of wood( blade and handle). So it is, but I felt that would have been an unfair answer. Since they all explained why they had given 14 as their answer, rather than the expected 12, I did not penalise them. Similarly, there were a couple of entrants who included a spare bail for each umpire. While I agree that it is good practice for umpires to carry spares, they are not‘ required’ as the question asks.
It becomes more difficult every year to think of original questions that require a numerical answer, and I do my utmost to avoid ambiguity – and I have all the questions and answers checked by an experienced umpire and a leading scorer. I hope no one feels too disgruntled if their solution does not match the official one.
The successful entries were sent in by Vic Allen, Angus Birkin, Jonathan Cousins, Malcolm Doody, Keith Healey, Frank Hodgkiss, Martyn Holloway-Neville, Cliff Loverock, Vijaya Mallela, Andrew Mason, Howard Moon, Nik Szkutko, Steven Smith, George Temperley and Mike Turner. The ACO winner was Steven Smith.
As always, I give my thanks to all those who sent in an entry, especially newcomers and those who included friendly and appreciative comments.
Third Umpire John M Brown
email us at ecb. aco @ ecb. co. uk contact us on 0121 446 2710 31