Association of Cricket Officials Issue 30 | Page 17

Young Officials – 2017 Review Young Officials Take On the National School Games 2017 has been another great year for Young Officials both locally and nationally. There were very strong performances by the umpires at the National Club and U15 County Finals (see pages 6 and 7). David Tooth, Aron Jordan and Jordan McManus also deserve special commendation for their performances across the ESCA Finals at Oakham and Arundel. There were further opportunities at the Yorkshire Schools U19 Festival, where all of the umpires received very high praise. This year’s Bunbury Festival, renowned for being the highest appointment for Young Officials, was yet again a great success. Paddy Brown (Lancashire), Ben Cousins (Buckinghamshire), Sam Hollingshead (Gloucestershire) and Ben Peverall (Somerset) all excelled across the five-day festival at Stowe, which brings together the best Under-15s in the country. This year saw the England Women’s Development Programme use the National School Games at Loughborough as their chance to bring together the top girls from around the country. ECB ACO appointed Sophie McLelland, Lina Nenova and Anna Harris, who all excelled across the three days in the middle, receiving expert mentoring from former Test umpire Lorraine Elgar and Women’s World Cup umpire Sue Redfern. The scorers, Kate Edwards and Rebecca Senior, shone in the shade of the National Performance Centre under the watchful eye of Su Klyne. The England Performance Team were highly impressed with the quality of officiating and teamwork across the weekend. Great work girls! Officials for the England Women’s Development Festival at Loughborough. L to R – Back Row: Anna Harris, Sophie McLelland, Su Klyne, Lorraine Elgar and Lina Nenova. Front Row: Kate Edwards and Rebecca Senior. 2017 Bunbury umpires: Paddy Brown (Lancashire), Sam Hollingshead (Gloucestershire), Ben Cousins (Buckinghamshire) and Ben Peverall (Somerset). Regional Young Official Coordinators Plans for 2018 We would like to thank the below people for agreeing to become Regional Young Official Coordinators. These regional roles are designed to support local Young Officials and provide them with mentoring, as well as aiding them to secure and be appointed to further opportunities within regions. • • • • • • • North – Johnathan Crabtree and Paddy Brown West Midlands – Inge Bevers East Midlands – Graham Pickering and Nathan Hewitt East – Phil Anderson South West and Wales – Ben Peverall and Chris Fortune South Central – David Tooth and Alisdair Shaikh London – Vinoj Srinivasan. All Young Officials should get in touch with their Regional Young Official Coordinator to ensure they don’t miss out on any great opportunities in 2018, both locally and nationally! We are planning some exciting opportunities for Young Officials next season across the country. We hope to provide many more local opportunities than ever before up and down the country to officiate in some great multi-day festivals and National Cup matches. Keep your eyes peeled for news in the new year and get in contact with your Regional Young Official Coordinator. Our thanks to all those who have helped mentor and observe Young Officials this year at all levels. We are always looking for people who are keen to help support Young Officials. If you are willing to assist, please contact us. email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710 17