FOCUS: “To concentrate attention or effort”
What is proper mindset of an umpire? Is it staring straight at an unobstructed view of play, ready and willing to make a decision as everything slows down and fractions of a second seem like full minutes? Now this umpire IS focused. Too bad you are watching on television and it’s only your dream and ambition to be out there making the split second decision that turns a Test Match.
What about the fact that the bowler “lives on the line”, it is 35 degrees, the pitch is up and down and it is session 3, day 5 of the deciding match in a 5 test series. What really happened before you saw the 5th replay from every conceivable angle?
This is the life of not only the International Umpire, but also every umpire officiating in any match on any given day of the year. Umpires jobs are hard enough given the multitude of Laws and Playing Conditions to remember, extensive techniques to perfect, diversity of personalities with which to interact and the challenge of the judgment calls they’re faced with every time they walk onto the field. Combine all these factors with the pressure of a game situation and even the most focused officials face a difficult task.
Regardless of how good you are in a natural sense with your experience and feel for the game, your performance will be diminished if you are not able to maintain your concentration and focus during a game.
Sunday, 13 December 2015
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Let The Players Play The Game
Use the Laws with commonsense
One of the best things an umpire can do to avoid conflict situations is to let players play the game. Umpires shouldn’t be looking for minor technical violations or any other circumstances just to show people they know the Law book backwards. With the new 2000 Code of Laws now firmly in place, umpires should look to use certain Laws as a deterrent rather than a solution. Always try to solve problems they occur.
Such situations may involve Penalty Runs for breaches like damaging the pitch or time wasting. Your proven techniques for dealing with past instances should not be discarded. Successful man management skills that have averted conflict situations need to be continued with minor adjustments. The powers that have been given to us by the strengthening of the unfair play Laws and awarding of Penalty Runs must be treated with care. The ultimate sanction of awarding Penalty Runs in some situations could be a poor reflection of your competence and capability.
For instance, the case of a batsman running on the pitch may not be considered as unfair play the first time it occurs. You will probably take many things into account and issue the quiet “unofficial” warning also adding a gentle reminder that penalty runs are a consequence of further breaches. Remember, the spirit and intent of this Law is not to penalize an accident or unintentional incident caused by a batsman or bowler changing direction to avoid injury/collision. Any pitch damage must be deliberate to be considered unfair. Ask yourself three questions:
(1) “Why did this particular player commit a particular act?”
(2) “Was it because the player wanted to gain an unfair advantage”
(3) “Did the player really know what he was doing?”
The same can be said of other situations like the wicketkeeper encroaching or a bowler getting in close to protected area of the pitch. Sometimes the nonstriker will be only too keen to point out a couple of footmarks made by the bowler. Let him know you are on top of the situation by saying something like “I’m keeping an eye on it”. A quiet word at the first instance will make the player aware of the possible infringement and alleviate a lot of animosity between players and umpires.
Use common sense when applying the Laws. One of the worst tags an umpire can get is that of being a “Law Book” umpire. Unfortunately, it’s a reputation that will stay with you for a long time.
Be complimentary
Good umpires know how to interact with players and there are many opportunities to do this during the course of the match. If the wicketkeeper removes the bails and then immediately replaces them, say “Thank you”. Your colleague at the bowlers end will indicate if the wicket is correctly aligned or not.
If you have cause to speak to the Captain about player behaviour, always finish your request with “Please”. After he has spoken to the player, always say “Thank you”. Remember, you are not trying to be their buddy, just showing simple courtesy. Whether this courtesy is returned or not is irrelevant and should not affect your future endeavours.
One of the best things an umpire can do to avoid conflict situations is to let players play the game. Umpires shouldn’t be looking for minor technical violations or any other circumstances just to show people they know the Law book backwards. With the new 2000 Code of Laws now firmly in place, umpires should look to use certain Laws as a deterrent rather than a solution. Always try to solve problems they occur.
Such situations may involve Penalty Runs for breaches like damaging the pitch or time wasting. Your proven techniques for dealing with past instances should not be discarded. Successful man management skills that have averted conflict situations need to be continued with minor adjustments. The powers that have been given to us by the strengthening of the unfair play Laws and awarding of Penalty Runs must be treated with care. The ultimate sanction of awarding Penalty Runs in some situations could be a poor reflection of your competence and capability.
For instance, the case of a batsman running on the pitch may not be considered as unfair play the first time it occurs. You will probably take many things into account and issue the quiet “unofficial” warning also adding a gentle reminder that penalty runs are a consequence of further breaches. Remember, the spirit and intent of this Law is not to penalize an accident or unintentional incident caused by a batsman or bowler changing direction to avoid injury/collision. Any pitch damage must be deliberate to be considered unfair. Ask yourself three questions:
(1) “Why did this particular player commit a particular act?”
(2) “Was it because the player wanted to gain an unfair advantage”
(3) “Did the player really know what he was doing?”
The same can be said of other situations like the wicketkeeper encroaching or a bowler getting in close to protected area of the pitch. Sometimes the nonstriker will be only too keen to point out a couple of footmarks made by the bowler. Let him know you are on top of the situation by saying something like “I’m keeping an eye on it”. A quiet word at the first instance will make the player aware of the possible infringement and alleviate a lot of animosity between players and umpires.
Use common sense when applying the Laws. One of the worst tags an umpire can get is that of being a “Law Book” umpire. Unfortunately, it’s a reputation that will stay with you for a long time.
Be complimentary
Good umpires know how to interact with players and there are many opportunities to do this during the course of the match. If the wicketkeeper removes the bails and then immediately replaces them, say “Thank you”. Your colleague at the bowlers end will indicate if the wicket is correctly aligned or not.
If you have cause to speak to the Captain about player behaviour, always finish your request with “Please”. After he has spoken to the player, always say “Thank you”. Remember, you are not trying to be their buddy, just showing simple courtesy. Whether this courtesy is returned or not is irrelevant and should not affect your future endeavours.
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Conflict Situations
The handling of conflict situations requires special personnel management skills. Animosity on the field can arise from two sources – player vs player or player vs umpire.
Player vs player – in this situation it is very often wise to allow the players to have their say so that both know how they feel about each other. By jumping in too quickly here the umpire will only incur the wrath of both players. They will be intent on having their say anyway – but the umpire in control will allow it for a short time only and then step in with words like “You’ve made your feelings clear now let’s get on with the game”.
Some umpires have a dislike for getting involved whilst others may step in too quickly. If either of these paths is chosen, the umpire will quickly lose the respect of the players. A few important matters need to be considered. These include:
Never react too quickly. A disappointed bowler needs a little time to cool down. If the incident occurs during an over, consider waiting until the over is completed before saying anything. An astute Captain will realize his bowlers cannot perform to their optimum if they are rattled and will quite often speak to the player. If this happens, wait to see if it produces the desired effect. If not, you should have a quiet word saying something like “Come on mate, don’t let things get too heated out here”. This is a non-threatening way of defusing a potential problem further into the match. If the bowler shows no interest in improving his behaviour, involve the Captain immediately and request him to take action.
Player vs umpire. Often the fielding team will feel aggrieved over a decision. To show that the umpire is in control and of good temperament, he should stand by his decision and reject any feelings of guilt. You may need to show you are in control by saying, “It’s obvious we disagree on what has happened but the decision has been made so let’s get on with the game”. If an error has been made, umpires must never try to even up as two mistakes over the one incident leads to a loss of respect.
Player Conduct Reports. In the first instance, request the Captain to control his players in accordance with The Spirit of Cricket. Should you need to speak to a player, never walk towards him in an aggressive manner or point fingers in an animated way. Always involve the Captain and your fellow umpire so that all concerned will know what was said. Any reports emanating must be made together with your colleague even if you have not heard what was said. You will know by the reaction of the player that there was a problem and your input into the report will be crucial when a hearing takes place.
Any comment or dissent by a player should be evaluated by you and if in your opinion it was a spur of the moment reaction, or of a minor nature, then you should ignore it or handle it in a low key way. However, if you deem it of a serious nature, or if the player’s behaviour was abusive or intimidatory towards you, then deal with it in accordance with Law 42.18.
Umpires must expect, due to the nature of their decision-making role, (i.e. making decisions that have implications for others), that conflict or dissent will occur at times. Umpires must not be daunted by this. Rather they should have developed strategies to enable them to meet such a challenge in a positive and confident manner.
Never think that being an umpire gives you immunity from having to take a little criticism. It’s part of umpiring so plan on it happening. Successful umpires know how much to take before acting under the code of conduct.
Player vs player – in this situation it is very often wise to allow the players to have their say so that both know how they feel about each other. By jumping in too quickly here the umpire will only incur the wrath of both players. They will be intent on having their say anyway – but the umpire in control will allow it for a short time only and then step in with words like “You’ve made your feelings clear now let’s get on with the game”.
Some umpires have a dislike for getting involved whilst others may step in too quickly. If either of these paths is chosen, the umpire will quickly lose the respect of the players. A few important matters need to be considered. These include:
Never react too quickly. A disappointed bowler needs a little time to cool down. If the incident occurs during an over, consider waiting until the over is completed before saying anything. An astute Captain will realize his bowlers cannot perform to their optimum if they are rattled and will quite often speak to the player. If this happens, wait to see if it produces the desired effect. If not, you should have a quiet word saying something like “Come on mate, don’t let things get too heated out here”. This is a non-threatening way of defusing a potential problem further into the match. If the bowler shows no interest in improving his behaviour, involve the Captain immediately and request him to take action.
Player vs umpire. Often the fielding team will feel aggrieved over a decision. To show that the umpire is in control and of good temperament, he should stand by his decision and reject any feelings of guilt. You may need to show you are in control by saying, “It’s obvious we disagree on what has happened but the decision has been made so let’s get on with the game”. If an error has been made, umpires must never try to even up as two mistakes over the one incident leads to a loss of respect.
Player Conduct Reports. In the first instance, request the Captain to control his players in accordance with The Spirit of Cricket. Should you need to speak to a player, never walk towards him in an aggressive manner or point fingers in an animated way. Always involve the Captain and your fellow umpire so that all concerned will know what was said. Any reports emanating must be made together with your colleague even if you have not heard what was said. You will know by the reaction of the player that there was a problem and your input into the report will be crucial when a hearing takes place.
Any comment or dissent by a player should be evaluated by you and if in your opinion it was a spur of the moment reaction, or of a minor nature, then you should ignore it or handle it in a low key way. However, if you deem it of a serious nature, or if the player’s behaviour was abusive or intimidatory towards you, then deal with it in accordance with Law 42.18.
Umpires must expect, due to the nature of their decision-making role, (i.e. making decisions that have implications for others), that conflict or dissent will occur at times. Umpires must not be daunted by this. Rather they should have developed strategies to enable them to meet such a challenge in a positive and confident manner.
Never think that being an umpire gives you immunity from having to take a little criticism. It’s part of umpiring so plan on it happening. Successful umpires know how much to take before acting under the code of conduct.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)