Association of Cricket Officials Issue 29 | Page 2

TEAM SHEET ACO Management Committee Vacant – Chairman Vacant – Deputy Chairman David Bird – West Midlands Terry Burstow – South Central Les Clemenson – South West and Wales Peter Hinstridge – East Peter McKenzie – East Midlands Sid Poole – London Philip Radcliffe – North Esther de Lange – ICC Europe Nick Cousins – Head of ECB ACO Bruce Cruse – Head of Participation Chris Kelly – ECB Umpires’ Manager Fraser Stewart – MCC Sue Jones – National Scorers’ Officer ECB ACO Executive Nick Cousins – Head of ECB ACO Glyn Pearson – Education Manager Hamish Grant – Finance, Administration and Projects Officer Ben Francis – Customer Marketing Manager (ACO) John Overton – National Growth Executive (ACO) Martin Gentle – Membership Services Manager Karen Cassidy – Membership Services Officer Phone – 0121 446 2710 Email – [email protected] ACO Management Sub-Committees Education Scorers Performance and Development Appointments and Grading Addresses ECB Membership Services Office Warwickshire CC Ground Edgbaston Birmingham B5 7QX ECB ACO Lord’s Cricket Ground London NW8 8QZ The Cricket Umpires and Scorers Trust (Available to ECB ACO and members of the former ACU&S) Enquiries/requests should be addressed to: The Chairman The Cricket Umpires and Scorers Trust c/o JF Rushton 77 Moatbrook Avenue Codsall Wolverhampton West Midlands WV8 1DJ Or, email [email protected] The trustees cannot guarantee to meet every request, but each will be given due consideration. Magazine Editor Hamish Grant [email protected] Photography © ECB ACO, MCC or Getty Images unless otherwise stated. Designed and produced by Coachwise Creative. 92622 2 Cricket in a Changing World I have spent some time re-reading the 28 editorials I have written that preceded this one. It is interesting to note that change in one form or another is the common thread that weaves throughout them all. Most of these changes have been quite significant: changes in the game structures; changes in attitudes of players, particularly with respect to the Spirit of Cricket; changes in the habits of umpires in terms of the number of games that each officiates; changes in appointments procedures, education, observation and assessment; changes to membership services; and most recently changes to our constitution and the relationship between ACO and ECB. I can hear some of you sighing and asking ‘Where does it end? When did the playing of cricket and the organisation of officiating become so complex? Has the game improved? Is the management and administration of officials better now because of all this change?’ I do understand this view, exemplified perhaps by a story told to me recently of two umpires meeting before standing in a Sunday fixture and whilst one was putting some cards in his top pocket, the other turned and said ‘What have you got there?’ ‘Just the ECB Directives’ replied the other. ‘Ah, another bloody new initiative’ said the first, adding a few expletives to colour the conversation. ‘Actually, they have been in force for a few years now’ replied the second – and smiled. Well you will probably all be aware by now that season 2018 sees the first major redraft of the Laws for 10 years. Training on the revised Laws will be available to counties from the start of January 2018, as will separate education and training documentation – indeed, it is intended that all ECB ACO education courses will be available from January 2018. MCC (using ACO tutors and an external production company) are producing their own courses to explain the new laws and these will be complementary to the ACO courses. In the meantime I am delighted to include a copy of the new code of Laws for you to peruse at your leisure – but please remember not to apply the new Laws until next season. Change is, of course, necessary to keep pace with the modern world and the different habits and attitudes of those who inhabit it (particularly the comparative newcomers), and cricket has had to embrace this in spades, starting by encouraging a change in the very nature of the one-day game as it is played today, particularly in respect of the growth of T20 cricket which has brought about innovative shot making; varying bowling styles and a phenomenally higher standard of fielding. Flatter pitches, shorter boundaries and bigger bats allied to a change of attitude have led to the balls being hit faster and harder than ever before – with a consequent risk of injury to those in closest proximity, including the umpires. Headguards and protective clothing are now commonplace for players and perhaps should be so for umpires: more on that later. There are now three different colours of ball: red, pink and white to accommodate coloured clothing, late starts and day/night games. Increased use of technology in the form of Decision Review System (DRS) and Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) and a sea change in the nature of scoring, with the capacity to upload live scores and download analysis being increasingly prevalent in recreational cricket as well as the First Class game. email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710