Association of Cricket Officials Issue 32 | Page 9

A Day in the Life of a D Grade Umpire Here, we look at Second XI cricket – an ambition for many aspiring umpires with the chance to umpire top-level cricket, usually alongside a professional umpire. Matthew French was awarded the D Grade for this season and shares his first experiences with us. My first D Grade appointment was Sussex Second XI vs Kent Second XI at the end of May, which I was excited about as not only was it at the County Ground, Hove, but as a Kentish man by birth, it was nice to officiate a match involving them. The game itself was not challenging regarding decision making. It was a good pitch and both sides made good starts in their first innings, so a draw was always going to be the most likely result. However, my first experience of Second XI championship cricket was between MCC Young Cricketers and Worcestershire Second XI at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. This came earlier than expected, as a replacement umpire. There were, however, some unusual issues that we needed to deal with. On day one we had to issue a Level 1 offence under Law 42 for a batsman showing dissent. We arrived on day two to find that water had got under the covers due to overnight rain, right on a length at one end. This meant we couldn’t commence play until midday. We also had to stop play early that day as the setting sun was shining in the batsmen’s eyes, making visibility difficult. We also dealt with a replacement wicketkeeper as the original ‘keeper broke his finger on day one. I knew this would be a challenge as it took me out of my comfort zone. To umpire a match at a higher level than you’ve done before is a challenge, but usually your first experience would be on a familiar ground with at least a few of the players known to you. So, for me to have to go away for four days and umpire two unfamiliar teams in an unfamiliar environment made me feel very apprehensive, all be it with excitement. I have umpired a few multi-day games before, as I was lucky enough to do a Second XI friendly at the end of last season, so the concept of playing for three days was not as alien to me as it might have been. My thoughts before the match regarding the challenges were the same as any match when moving up a level; the players would test me, and I would need to be aware of this. I found as the match went on my confidence grew and the players became more willing to approach me and I slowly built a rapport and gained their trust. The most challenging thing I found with the Playing Conditions was keeping tabs with the over rate, whereas in recreational cricket with one innings in one day it is very simple. Having to deal with different sessions, days and innings made it much more complex, and although it is seen as the responsibility of the First Class umpire to keep track of this, I felt I needed to assist in this. Overall, my first experience of a Second XI County Championship match was great. I must give thanks to my colleague Ian Ramage who kept me involved in everything, gave me excellent feedback and took time out to explain matters regarding regulations etc. The scorers Su Klyne and Roger Wilks were great too and we all worked well together, allowing the game to run smoothly. Officials team for the match (L to R): Roger Wilks, Su Klyne, Ian Ramage and Matthew French. email us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710 9