Well after a heavy couple of months of youth cricket umpiring I have only one carnival to go (I think).
there has been some outstanding talent on display across all age groups and outstanding sportmanship shown by almost all players and many of the coaches. Given that this is my series of youth tournaments in Australia I am somewhaty surprised by the attitudes of a number of coaches to the role of umpire. Despite the misgivings of a number of tournament organisers about how the players would respond to official umpires it has been the coaches who have set a very poor record. Frankly as I said the great majority were fantastic but when you got a coach who was a prima donna you knew the team was going to be difficult as well. It was great though to renew acquaintances with various team managements from carnival to carnival. This also led to some open discussions about tactics certain coaches were using to win games and try to win these carnivals.
Firstly most of these carnivals allowed teams to bat on after they had won a game. This brought great delight to certain spectators as they clapped and applauded their players as some unfortunate team got buried. It is always amazing in these games how batsmen all of a sudden become stars when no pressure is on. I guess carnival organisers have forgotten the axiom of the modern Spirit of Cricket which says among other things that you respect your opponent. It seems the organisers of these carnivals have decided this is not applicable in their rules despite professing it in the hand outs.
Secondly a handful of coaches had worked out various twists to the Rules of these carnivals, one carnival in particular, and as coaches they must be obeyed by all, including umpiring, so they may what can only be called cheat.
however let us get back to playing "fair". Umpires have a duty of care to all players that goes without saying. Umpires are there also to help manage a game and to adjudicate on various aspects of the game such as deciding appeals or advising when rules or laws have been broken. There are times when we can act and there are times when all we can do is advise that things are amiss. So when you have a coach or two who refuse to communicate with umpires before a game, interesting situation this, or who are openly hostile you know that the players have been coached badly and that something is going to go astray.
In the tournaments I have seen.
1. A coach stoutly defend an absolute chucker.
2. A coach manipulate an over rate allowance and then run off to organisers in a devious attempt to justify his actions before waiting for a discussion with umpires after the match. This coach did succeed for a short time in convincing the orgainsers his interpretation was correct however saneness did win out after the sillyness of his position was discussed. The caoch here broke the normal arrangements between umpires and coach in placing his views with the organisers before a joint discussion could be held and his attitude after he thought he had won the discussion was reprehensible. But hey he didn't know the correct procedures did he. he knew enough about how to manipulate and cheat but not enough about procedures. In other words when he was caught out he abiuse a time honoured system.
3. A coach manipulate the rule about high bouncing balls. he forgot the law about negative bowling and when that was brought to his attention, the look on his face showed that he knew he was cheating. (I am a little dismayed that umpires who have umpired this successful tactic in the previous two years did not stop it then).
4. A coach expecting umpires to go 'easy' on his team in damp conditions because a couple of his star players were brought in to the match with injuries. It seemed the coach believed the umpires should play by two sets of laws and Rules, one for his team and one for the opposition. After moaning about conditions, which were absolutely playable, the umpires decided by their knowledge of the Laws to transfer any so called blame for future 'injuries' back to the coaches as much as possible. Guess what, the game went on. Frankly if I ever hear another junior coach tell an umpire about the coaches perceived idea of duty of care I will commit personal violence.
It seemed that a small number of coaches expected umpires to play fair when they were not. Umpires are their to facilitate a game and in the vast majority of cases everyone enjoys it. They are not there to be fair to one team or another. they are there to umpire the game under the Rules and Laws of the contest. This may seem a little harsh to some but if you allow rules to be broken for one team and others play according to the Rules you are allowing an advantage. Coaches who expect an advantage and make pigs of themselves in demanding it are remembered by their peer group as being unfair, uncooperative and in a few instances for being cheats. If that is what floats your boat as a coach then so be it. Learn the Rules and Laws and understand the correct relationship with umpires. In many cases umpires refuse to stand in junior carnivals for the reason that coaches are in some cases so over the top that umpiring because a nightmare rather than a pleasure. In fact in this season at a carnival I was not umpiring in, cricket lost one of its best senior schoolboy coaches and mentor because of an idiot coach. If these coaches spent a little more time helping their players rather than working out how to screw the Rules and laws over we have a much better game.
Oh and a not to carnival organisers, it is not the umpires who need to be trained in carnival rules, it is the coaches who need to be trained in Rules and laws and the proper interaction between team and umpire. It is no excuse to say it is a coaches first time and he didn't know. Part of your duty of care is to make sure that a first time coach doesn't screw up an umpire so badly that he is lost to the game.
PS I only had 11 bowling markers taken as souveniers during these tournaments. A record low number. lol
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Topic: Playing Fair? (Read 2346 times)