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  1. Home
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  3. The state of umpiring in Leinster
11th November 2016 by Eddie Lewis

The state of umpiring in Leinster

Lest anyone is misled by the headline [though of course that is what headlines are supposed to do] this is not about the standard of umpiring but about the coverage of competitions.

Arising out of discussions at the recent Club Day, and again in responses to the survey of cricketers who have given up the sport since 2014, the importance of having as many games umpired by appointed officials has been highlighted as a key issue for the development of the club game in Leinster. Having to rely on players from the teams involved to manage their own matches is a source of much of the contention between clubs, leads to disputes that end up in disciplinary procedures and greatly lowers the enjoyment of the sport for all.

At the Club Day a number of suggestions were put forward to improve the current situation and we can consider some of these over the winter. But the ideal solution is to extend the coverage of matches by appointed officials.

So the key question is, how far are we from being able to have neutral umpires at all competitive adult club matches.

There has been a significant growth in the number of umpire appointments by the LCUSA in recent years. Ten years ago there were 44 umpires who donned the white coat for at least one match in the season. This number has risen to 63 in 2016 [excluding visiting umpires]. The chart below sets out the total number of appointments made by the LCUSA and shows a steady increase over the past decade.

Looking at the overall proportion of Open Competition matches with neutral umpires, this has risen from just over 50% to over 60% since 2011. This has occurred at the same time as the number of other matches covered [youth, women, all-Ireland, friendlies/touring and representative] has also increased.

So where does that leave us today? Are we close enough to being able to appoint umpires to all competitive matches taking place in Leinster to make this a realistic objective for the LCU? The figures would suggest that if we could reach a target of about 100 active umpires that we would get pretty close to universal coverage for the OC on the basis of an average of about 20 matches per season [perhaps increasing this to say 24 per season to cover all matches]**.

So is it a realistic objective to think that we could in the not too distant future be able to appoint a neutral umpire to every adult competitive match and at least the finals of important Youth Competitions? If you wanted to reach this target how would you go about it?

The table below provides a status check on the coverage of OC competitions in 2016. 

  2 umpires1 umpire0 umpires% coverage
Alan Murray 2300100%
Division 1 6400100%
Division 2 5300100%
Division 3 5220100%
Division 4 492296%
Division 5 412983%
Division 6 3431571%
Division 7 1642842%
Division 8 1722543%
Division 9 1123726%
Division 10 803519%
Division 11 1414625%
Division 12 714017%
Division 13 514711%
Division 14 322915%
Division 15 10303%
Division 16 503612%
Intermediate Cup 90853%
Junior Cup 501033%
Middle 2 Cup 130476%
Middle Cup 112381%
Minor Cup 50936%
Minor 2 Cup 61847%
Russell Court Trophy 142964%
Senior Cup 1800100%
Senior 2 Cup 1300100%
Tillain Cup 2110100%
Whelan Cup 183678%
YMCA Salver 190588%

How many additional umpires do we need each year? I am making a rough guess at this but I expect that to achieve the target of 100 active umpires [allowing for retirements] over the next five years we would need to train about 20 new umpires per annum**.

The second option, though a more controversial one, is to increase the number of occasions where a single umpire could be appointed for a match [e.g. T20 format]. 32 matches were covered by one umpire during the 2016 season. This is far from an ideal arrangement but it may be feasible when there is a shortage of umpires to cover all matches.

A third options is to look to recruit current or recently retired players who, following a refresher course in the rules of the game [because many players don’t know the rules] might be able to act as a second umpire for leagues below a certain grade. 

Finally, starting now, clubs need to become more active in encouraging their players / members to take up umpiring. It is interesting to note that on the basis of club affiliations provided by the umpires themselves [so as to avoid games involving their own club] that there are 18 clubs, including three with teams in OCD1/OCD2, who provide no umpires. The full list of those clubs with umpires is set out in the table below.

Clubs with Umpires
Adamstown1
Bagenalstown2
Balbriggan2
Civil Service4
Clondalkin1
Clontarf2
DUCC1
Dundalk2
Dundrum2
Greystones4
Knockharley1
Leinster8
Malahide1
Merrion3
North County3
North Kildare1
Phoenix4
Railway Union3
Terenure2
Tyrrelstown1
Wexford2
YMCA3

No club affiliation      12

Clubs without umpires - AIB, Ashbourne, Cabinteely, Carlow, Castleknock, Halverstown, Laois, Longford, Lucan, Mullinar, Pembroke, Ringcommons, Rush, Sandyford, Slieve Bloom, Swords, The Hills, Wicklow County

There are major challenges to providing universal coverage for competitive adult club cricket in Leinster. The distance to be travelled to cover games across Leinster and the lack of public transport to many grounds. The reliance on a small number of umpires who take on a large proportion of matches. The logistical issues that would need to be addressed if all competitions were to have umpires and the extra cost for clubs. But notwithstanding these difficulties, it is far from impossible. Each year over 500 persons give up playing club cricket, perhaps some of these might be willing to put something back into the game. It must be remembered that this is a voluntary activity. Umpires are not paid [but they are provided with a modest amount to cover expenses] and give up their time to support the sport.

It is very much up to the clubs to take a lead in this. If we cannot make progress then certainly the LCU can revisit the option of putting pressure [financial or through the playing regulations] on clubs to step up to the mark. But it would be much better if this was done willingly in the interests of the development of the sport. A positive first step would be for clubs to arrange umpiring evenings over the winter to improve players understanding of the rules / laws of cricket***.

 

Note:  Thanks to Peter Thew for the data. Needless to say any views expressed are those of the author and not the LCUSA.

*The next Level 1 training course takes place on 14/15th January in Springdale NS, Raheny [Enquiries to Bala Kailash - bala.kailash@gmail.com] and has places for up to 17 persons [I understand that many of the places have already been taken up so if you are thinking about it you need to book soon].  If there is sufficient interest another course will be held before the start of next season.

**The current average number of times an umpire is appointed in a season is just over 20. Of course this hides wide variations in activity levels with a half a dozen umpires doing more than double the average number of matches and others much less.

***The LCUSA have agreed to support a two-night familiarisation with rules for players and others interested. Club evenings have been scheduled for Lucan/Adamstown [Nov 2nd and 16th], Civil Service [Nov 9th/16th] and Railway U [Nov 23rd / 30th]

Previous Reminder - Autumn 2016 Cricket Leinster AGM
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