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[art]

Hi buck,

Saw your comments about 60 year old umpires. For training I face young quicks bowling at 140 ks plus and do okay.

But here is a challenge. Shorly when we launch a new initiative on this site I will be presenting, with some other folks a new treatise on umpiring. You wilol have sole right of critiquing what is said in the various articles.

Perhaps you can start now by listeing your problems with old umpires (old as in 60) and add some comments on why more younger people don't want to or won't umpire.

[Johnny]

Art, I hope I'm not gatecrashing your thread, but I just wanted to comment that I feel the reason younger people don't do it (or certainnly my reasons for not wanting to do it), is that whilst I'm fit enough I'd prefer to be playing, rather than umpiring. I would consider taking it up once I'm no longer able to play myself - I'd prefer umpiring to playing golf!

[PunterPonting]

Also its a hard process to umpire any reasonable standard of cricket, I've looked into it and it just seems impossible..

[sultanofswing]

I umpire junior games and quite enjoy it, I am umpiring a county u12s game this year which should be good

[Howzat]

I don't like umpiring, its boring, too much pressure and I'd rather be playing.

[bucko2007]

Ok I'm not quite sure on the tone of this thread? So art, are you a 60+ umpire? I still stand by my statement that older umpires obviously aren't as sharp as their younger counterparts (all things being equal). What I am saying is, you might be an excellent 60+ umpire, but you would be even better if you were 50. Stating the obvious I guess.
I totally appreciate the time umpires commit to the game, and its not an easy job. I just find in general though that older umpires aren't always up to the pace of the modern game. My post before was obviously born out of frustration of my LBW after a blatent nick onto the pads that only the keeper half went up for, the umpire's body language just suggested he didn't have a clue

[art]

The replies I have been looking for are now all on this thread and Buck there was no malice in my post at all. Frankly when I umpire with a young umpire and see what happens in a game it worries me at times. As I said to one batsman recently after he complained at lunch the other umpire had given him out LBW on a knick "Well you tested the umpire with that little edge onto the pad and he missed it and you are out, if you can get a little knick onto your pads surely you can hit it in the middle and not worry the umpire." Takes and error to make an error.

Firstly, Punter, you couldn't be more wrong, umpiring is a very simple and enjoyable process, (see that Leo) and yes playing for most is preferable to umpiring, serious injury at an early age led to umpiring for me.

So as part of some new innovations here a series will be run on umpiring as fun. Yes I know what some folks will think but personally I am over grim faced umpires, stupid outdated training methods, and umpires believing they are stars because they report players for some insignificant breach. I am also over various associations presenting unintelligent and unintellible rules of various competitions, and various umpiring bodies and local associations believing they are apart from mainstream cricket and they have a right to act as some secret society.

Umpiring is fun and its about time the administrators admitted it instead of scaring off many potential good umpires even before they reach the field of play. Oh and to add to that its about time a lot of the old time grim faced umpire administrators folded their tents and vanished into the night, you are ruining the enjoyment of the game for everyone.

That's my little rant. After 37 years of umpiring I almost gave it up recently but after starting to play again and some earnest talks with real cricket people perhaps my approach is the correct one.

Oh I turned 60 a few months ago and I am firm believer of substance over style, it seems for many umpire 'trainers' that style is more important than substance these days, lol. A good cricketer can tell which an umpire has in less than 5 minutes. There are in fact very few things you need to do as an umpire and it is certainly much more stressful getting to the match and home again than umpiring.