Association of Cricket Officials Issue 32 | Page 3

2017 was the year that saw a new Code of Laws for the first time in nearly two decades. 2018 sees them in action, as well as the development of a new Tom Smith’s. At a time when we know we need more umpires and scorers, and we need to keep those we have officiating regularly, this support is more important than ever – and if my own experiences in the classroom and on the field this summer are anything to go by, it is a role that ECB ACO is fulfilling. Off the field, for me the start of this summer has been all about the new 2017 Code of Laws and its introduction to cricket in the northern hemisphere. There has been a whole heap of feedback coming into us at MCC – which we welcome – and it has been wonderful to see the new Laws being adopted so widely up and down the country. We know there are some concerns, and we are reviewing the Laws constantly, as we did throughout the southern hemisphere summer, where they had to react fast and implement the 2017 Code almost immediately. As members of the umpiring and scoring community, you – along with players and coaches across the country – are on the frontline of experiencing these new Laws, so you don’t need me to tell you about how they are bedding in. Many of you will have helped keep players safe by removing dangerous bowlers. Some of you, in professional cricket, have been using bat gauges to ensure bats are within the limits. And some of you may even have used Law 42 to help control player behaviour. I hope that, now we are halfway through the season, you are becoming used to them, comfortable with them, and thinking of them less as the ‘new Laws’ and more as just the Laws! Over(ton) and Out This month we said goodbye to John Overton, National Growth Executive, who moved into ECB’s Team England department. In his time at ECB ACO, John led our Young Officials programme to new heights by growing the number of 16–25 year olds who undertook various umpiring and scoring courses, while continually developing and modernising the content to engage this audience – particularly the Young Leaders course. Continuing the Young Officials theme, John grew the amount of appointments that we’re able to offer at a range of levels and led several high quality Young Official conferences across the country. This summer has also been spent rewriting Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, a sizeable task but an extremely enjoyable one. We know how important ‘the bible’ is for umpires and scorers around the world, and the number of enquiries about a publication’s date reflect that. By the time you read this, I am extremely hopeful that the full text will have been rewritten. We are still working on the visual content (pictures and videos for the electronic versions), and there will be some time between the work being finished and it actually being published – but we are making good progress. I am sure everyone can appreciate that, for a piece of work like this, on which so many of us will rely for years to come, it is more important that it is right, than it is quick. That said, we – that is a team of several writers, editors, umpires (both recreational and professional) and scorers – are working as hard as we can to bring it out as quickly as possible. All that’s left to say is that I hope you enjoy this issue of the magazine – it’s packed full of great content, as ever – and that you keep enjoying your cricket throughout this summer and beyond. John also led ACO’s South Asian engagement work, embedding ACO in the ECB’s work programmes within this area. His relationship building skills were crucial in ACO’s visibility at last summer’s Women’s World Cup, where ACO had a presence at each game. Finally, his work to ensure that this magazine was filled to the brim with appropriate content and delivered to your doorsteps cannot be underestimated. Thank you John for your hard work and efforts to champion the role of umpires and scorers across England and Wales, and beyond. Keep an eye out for John at the international games – he’s likely to be in that ever-growing England pre-match huddle! email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710 3