Forum

Good point Matthew and if that's one of the problems then I'm sure there are ways of working around it. Nobody wants to embarrass or be embarrassed but we all want umpires. In fact the game is nothing without them. Are there any other obstacles out there?

maybe people want to do the umpires course but their are people who know the game rules laws etc but are not very good at exams you dont need exams to be a good umpire look at dickie bird never sat an exam rest is history

Matthew - see my posting from sunny Buckna on 12th April and the response from a guy called Stuart!!

Not sure "name and shame" works Matthew because the problem is much deeper and won't be solved by the threat of no nominations then no umpires. It sounds logical and fair but it won't work for lots of reasons. We need to get to the root of the problem and that means some research and fact-finding to find out why we have fewer umpires and fewer coming through the ranks. There must be reasons and once we know the problems then we can set about solving them. This is a matter for the NIACUS or the NCU Cricket Committee. Either way, it is as important as any issue on the table today or in the past few years. Also a good subject for a thesis or a schools project on behavioural patterns.

andy why dont we name the clubs who have not put forward anybody to become an umpire yes you cant force anybody to do it but surley someone at any of the clubs could stand at square leg for a match and help out as we do have a serious shortage of umpires

the point of my earlier posting was to highlight what I see - from a personal viewpoint - as a the possible crisis. It was not my intention to "point the finger" but with retirements from the "active" panel & few recruits coming forward then the day is fast approaching when there will not be enough umpires to cover 1st Division matches.

1 North Down
2 Muckamore
3 Academy
4 Cregagh

best ground in section one Strangford road by a MILE PS tayto i d have BET with you as your a Banker that never even paid your debt to Sir Ian Bothams charity ill stick to trying get my bets on with honest bookie

my predictions:

PL- North Down
Section 1- Lurgan
Section 2- Saintfield
Section 3- Cregagh

Played on some class grounds last year favourite ground and wicket to play on would be saintfield, love playing at our ground the setting is 1st class worst ground has to be the cloney …….. only joking bruce always enjoy playing at donacloney as well there isn’t too many grounds I don’t like playing at

Hard to beat the Meadow Downpatrick for a great setting and excellent pitches! Also good to see so many of the section 1 grounds being improved though. We are lucky to have so many pleasant grounds to play on. Bring on the new season.

my predictions:

PL- North Down
Section 1- Downpatrick (have to be confident)
Section 2- Saintfield
Section 3- Ards

Rodney- we all know there is only one 'Meadow' and that is on the Strangford Road (getting the derby banter going already). Personally i find the dundrum ground one of the worst i play on each year. Just my personal opinion... i bet that stirs the pot a bit lol

Regarding Umpires

Having played a long time, you have to take the rough with the smooth as umpires do make mistakes. They are human like the rest of us.

Having seen 5 or 6 bowl outs in various cup games during my career, all I can say is that you have to wonder how many LBW'S are given when most of the bowlers I watched could not hit the stumps when there was no one standing in front of them.

Also if players walked when they edged the ball instead of standing and cheating, there would be a lot less animosity between both sets of players and this in turn would make an Umpires life much easier

On the subject of umpires surely everyone has a duty to help, encourage, cajole people to get involved in a vital part of any good cricket game. Umpires make mistakes but then so do players. Last weekend I saw players bowl juicy full tosses, fielders drop catches, wicketkeepers miss stumpings and batsmen play rash shots. And that was in one game. Those players were human beings who made mistakes but lo and behold any umpire who doesn't hear the finest of nicks, or misses an lbw because the bowler is blocking his vision.
The game is what it is, lets strive to be better players and better umpires and be honest in our endeavours.
I have put my name forward to umpire a game on Saturday 28th April as my team has no game that day. I will approach that as I do every game. To be perfect. However I drop catches, I play rash shots, I bowl full tosses so I may cock up a decision. I won't have done it deliberately and I will aim to be better the next time.
If you have no game some Saturday or Sunday why not give volunteer to stand as an umpire. Best place to watch a game they say, meet some new faces and hopefully make a few new friends.

I have no issue with clubs or anyone in the game encouraging people to become umpires. I was simply responding to comments suggesting each club should be made to name the umpires they provide etc.

The basis on which I give an opinion is I am a cricketer I watch cricket all the time and I believe that everyone should be entitled to an opinion. I have seen with my own eyes bad umpiring decisions from international level right down. If you feel that only qualified umpires or someone who has played senior cricket for 20 years has a right to criticise you then that really is a sad state of affairs.

I can only call things as I have seen them. I have no agenda to go to a game and criticise an umpire or come on here and do it. But I think some of the comments directed towards clubs where unfair. Yes we should encourage as many as possible to become umpires if they want but forcing people down this route will be a sad day for cricket

My Predictions

Premier League Waringstown
Section One Muckamore
Section Two Drumaness
Section Three Ards

BKISC Instonians
Senior Cup Waringstown
Irish Junior Cup Muckamore

NW Premier League Limavady

Premier League Manchester United
European Championship ENGLAND

Jeff , what odds will I get on that lot ?

My predictions:

Premier League - North Down
Section 1 - Dundrum
Section 2 - Templepatrick
Section 3 - Donaghadee

Also for those of you who haven't seen Dundrum's magnificent ground or who want to see it again, have a look at our rolling banner on the homepage. "The one and only Meadow" in its prime on an early Saturday morning. www.dundrumcc.com