To speak or not to speak

There are times when umpires should offer help, advice or instructions and others where it is best to remain silent. Here are some examples:

·         When a new batter has taken guard, it is customary to tell the new batter how many balls remain in the over.

·         If the batters are running on the pitch (grass) they must be told to run off it. Often young batters run on the pitch because they have played all their previous cricket on artificial surfaces where there is no risk of damage being caused by the act of running between the wickets. This is not the case on grass pitches where the batter’s studs and spikes can easily damage the playing surface.

·         Likewise, if the bowler is running on the “restricted area” on a grass pitch he must also be warned. If he persists, then he is subject to the appropriate sanctions of the relevant law.

·         Bowlers who follow-through in front of the umpire after they have bowled the ball need to be told that they are obscuring the umpire’s view, thus preventing you from ruling on lbw or catches at the wicket.

·         You do not need to explain not-out decisions to the bowler or the fielders after you have declined an appeal. Some umpires are in the habit of using hand-signals to indicate what the ball was doing when an lbw appeal is turned down. This is perfectly acceptable.