Your Letters( continued)
Ned Wilsher, Middlesex ACO
I have spent some time looking at the new Laws to be implemented in 2017 with a view to organising a pre-2018 season forum with our club umpires, players, and anyone else who wants to come along.
I do have some concerns about the application of the new players’ conduct sanctions and ask whether the ACO are to provide any guidance.
42.1.3 The umpire concerned shall report the matter to the other umpire and together they shall decide whether misconduct has occurred.
My first concern is how this is to operate in practice. I suspect this will work fine with two independent panel umpires. It will also work well among many‘ club’ umpires; but unfortunately not all. It is less likely( to the point of being unlikely) where there is only one umpire, or none at all, with players having to do one or both ends. For example, in a club cricket match, let’ s say the umpire appointed by Club A wants to send off the opening bat of Club B; but he / she has to get the agreement of the other umpire under 42.1.3. Now this other umpire might be one of the Club B batsmen‘ doing his 10’. So how does that work? He is likely to argue leniency as he will not acquiesce to sending his own opening bat to the pavilion.
I also note that‘ serious dissent’ is a Level 2 offence and‘ dissent’ alone is Level 1. So any form of dissent at an umpire’ s decision, including non-serious dissent, is at least a Level 1 offence. Let me add that the word‘ dissent’ does not mean showing aggression, ire or rage. Dissent simply means‘ not agreeing’, so a Level 1 offence could be interpreted as‘ showing disagreement at an umpire’ s decision by word or action’. Are we to receive guidance on this? Is there a difference between‘ you sure umps?’ and‘ you got that wrong, umps’. Are comments like‘ OK lads, it’ s wrong, but let’ s get on with it’ technically Level 1 offences?
Which brings me onto excessive appealing. This does not, in my opinion, simply mean that a player cannot appeal LBW on the sixth ball if the umpire had turned down the previous five in the over. If, however, a player appeals anything and everything I think that becomes‘ excessive’ and a quiet word would be in order before the‘ excessive’ mark is reached. The other type of‘ excessive’ is where an appeal is made and whilst the umpire is contemplating his decision the appeals just keep coming and coming. My view is that Law 31.1 requires an appeal‘ by a fielder’ and not a full blown acoustic attack on the umpire from the players. And finally, does one regard frequent, yet,‘ lone’ appeals for LBW from square leg as excessive?
More generally, will the ACO be issuing guidance and how will that guidance filter through to the players and club officials? What will be the situation where there is only one umpire( who may, or may not do both ends), and is there any difference if one club umpire is qualified( and presumably an ACO member) and the other is not( a situation that often arises)?
On a personal note I hope I never have to instigate these sanctions. I have never lost control of a match. In the worse scenario I encountered I gave two players demonstrating unreasonable behaviour three choices.
1. To continue to play the game within the Spirit of Cricket. 2. Go back to the pavilion, get changed and go home.
3. Continue in an unreasonable manner, and in which case, I would go to the pavilion, get changed and go home.
They chose the first.
Answered by Jonny Singer, MCC Laws of Cricket Advisor
I understand your concern with Law 42 – for which the Laws state that umpires must consult over matters of misconduct. The Laws of Cricket are written, as stated in Law 3, with two umpires in mind. If, in any particular game, there are not two umpires – or the two umpires appointed are not deemed by the body responsible for the game to be qualified to make such decisions – that must be a decision for the league governing the game. Unless stipulated otherwise, however, the umpires should be allowed, and required, to carry out the Laws of Cricket, which often requires them to consult.
On your second query, the same answer applies as above regarding advice and guidance that will be given by ECB ACO in the close season. It is worth adding that standards of expected behaviour do vary globally, which makes it harder for MCC to dictate a single standard, but should not deter ECB ACO from trying.
Ned Wilsher, Middlesex ACO
With a new season well underway, I rather belatedly looked at my attire and decided it was time to renew my ageing footwear. In my opinion, looking smart is half the battle towards gaining player respect, but no matter how much scrubbing or application of shoe-whitener, my old shoes are now past their prime.
So I am now scouring sports shops( and the Internet) for replacement golf shoes. Yes, golf shoes. And it made me wonder how many other umpires had, like me, found golf shoes the perfect footwear. They are certainly smart, so tick the‘ look the part’ box. Yet they are also very comfortable as they are basically a shoe designed for hours upon hours of walking across soft ground. Trainers, I found, did not breath so well and became uncomfortable after a time, and it is important that an umpire is just as comfortable and relaxed during the last delivery of the match as he or she is for the first. Additionally, on those damp greasy surface days, I find the soft spikes give enough traction to enable me to move quickly without losing my footing, yet do not offend the‘ no spikes in the clubhouse’ rule.
Am I alone? I have not seen another golf shoe out there.
Answered by Nick Cousins, Head of ECB ACO
What a good point!
There is a wide variety of footwear used by umpires and for this reason we have always resisted the inclusion of a brand or type in our merchandise package. But perhaps we should market a cricket umpire shoe on the golf shoe line? What do others think? Please write and let us know what your footwear of choice is – and whether we should investigate a golf-type cricket umpire shoe?
20 email us at ecb. aco @ ecb. co. uk contact us on 0121 446 2710