Association of Cricket Officials Issue 32 | Page 2

TEAM SHEET ACO Management Committee Vacant – Chairman Vacant – Deputy Chairman David Bird – West Midlands Raj Patel – 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) 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. Front cover photo © Matt Bright Designed and produced by Coachwise Creative. 93052 2 Building On a Decorated Decade For those of you who were unaware, 2018 is the 10-year anniversary for ECB ACO. In light of this, and in keeping with many other popular publications, we have decided to have a series of guest editorials. In this issue, Jonny Singer (MCC Laws of Cricket Advisor) gives us his take on the season so far, on and off the field. When ECB ACO asked me to guest edit their magazine, I wasn’t quite sure what I’d say in this editorial. I have edited several publications in my time, umpired cricket, and written for this very magazine, but I never expected to combine those disciplines in the form of this piece. But it occurs to me that, as umpires and scorers, we are all, at times, playing the role of guest editor; the venue, for the most part, is not our home ground, yet we are in control of what happens within the confines of it; we provide very little of the content of the game, but in our own way we define the shape of it and make sure it is appropriate in content and length; and, from time to time, people assume that we do very little, not knowing that without an editor or an umpire/scorer, magazines and games of cricket rarely go smoothly. Before you get into the meat of this issue, then, let me briefly introduce myself. As MCC’s Laws of Cricket Advisor for the last year, I have been brought into the heart of ECB ACO – sitting on the Management Committee, working occasionally with the Education Sub-Committee and, from time to time, enjoying engaging conversations with umpires and scorers from around the country (and beyond – hello Belgium!) In this capacity you may remember me from classic episodes such as ‘I can’t log in to the eLearning’, ‘I have an enquiry about an obscure incident that happened last Saturday’ and, my personal favourite, ‘I wish to write to MCC to tell them what a mess they’ve made of Law 41.7’. Starting off at MCC I felt, at times, that I had jumped in at the deep end – not least at my first ECB ACO meeting up at Edgbaston, for which I think it is fair to say I was pretty unprepared. But, as is the way with cricket officials, the community – and that day, the Sub-Committee – made me feel welcome, helped teach me the basics, and, over time, gave me the tools to, I hope, contribute. So it is – and must be – with umpiring and scoring. What ECB ACO has moved towards in the new Stage One and Stage Two courses is less rote learning, and more facilitation. New umpires are given the tools to do their job, but also empowered to learn for themselves (I have recently completed the Stage One and Two courses). At MCC we spent a great deal of time and effort producing what I believe to be an excellent eLearning programme – and it’s a real source of pride to us when ECB ACO members, and their counterparts around the world, tell us not just that they enjoyed it, but that it helped them learn the Laws. We love being a part of that process, but the role played by the ECB ACO – through their full-time staff and educational coordinators, but more importantly through you, the members – is vital. Learning to umpire is more than just knowing the Laws – it’s about craft and self-improvement, and that is made possible when you are part of a community, and an environment, that helps you thrive. email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710