Association of Cricket Officials Issue 32 | Page 20

Duo Up to
the Test
In May 2018, Ireland played their first Test match against Pakistan at Malahide, with English umpires
Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth in the middle. In the weeks leading up to the historic occasion,
Ben Peverall and Sam Hollingshead (both 26) were appointed to stand in the warm-up game against
Somerset at Taunton. Sam recounts what it was like to umpire a Test team and his highlights from a
very memorable four days.
Being appointed to the Somerset vs Ireland four-day match
during pre-season came as a pleasant surprise. Having not seen
a ball bowled since early September, I decided to go to several
net sessions of cricket clubs in Bath to remind myself how it felt
to be stood at bowler’s end, to see bat on ball and to start my
movements to judge for run outs.
There is no denying that prior to the four-day match
commencing, I was nervous. I rang other umpires in the South
West (Pete Ogborne, Bob Hampshire and Les Clemenson) and
my colleague, Ben Peverall for their thoughts, as they have
provided sound advice since I took up umpiring and they all
reminded me to do the basics. With my butterflies in formation
and talking to players, coaches and ground staff, I was ready for
the four days.
Stood at the bowler’s end for the first ball of the match seemed
totally surreal. Players I have grown up watching on TV on both
the county and international stage around me knowing that
throughout the four-day match they’d be expecting the highest
quality of decision making and match management, which was
a challenge I was ready for due to my pre-match preparation.
Taunton at its finest for Somerset vs Ireland with
Ben Peverall and Sam Hollingshead in the middle.
The match was played in great spirit and the cricket
demonstrated was at an exceedingly high level. Ben and I were
kept busy and we had to manage Ground, Weather and Light
issues (along with the crowd wanting to see some cricket!).
The pitch played well considering the weather we had prior to
the match starting, and was a good early test considering the
bowlers were making the most of the pitch. The differing styles
of bowling was a good experience of the varying carry, bounce
and seam movement that bowlers at that level produce; from
the pace and bounce of Boyd Rankin to the spin of Dom Bess,
all were a test of my umpiring skills.
To be amongst it in the middle as an umpire and to share the
odd comment or joke with the players over the four days was an
experience I will not forget.
Attending the net sessions was a good initiative as the fielding
abilities of the professionals were of such a high level that
moving quickly from bowler’s end was essential. I learnt a lot
from the match, and can use all the experience and post-match
feedback to build on for the 2018 season.
Best of luck to the two teams as they go ahead into the
domestic and international arenas respectively.