Practising Your Umpiring in the Nets

Net Practice

Net practice should be an integral and important component of your match preparation and continuous improvement program. Players go to practice so that they can work on or develop their skills. Players work on improving their weaknesses and consolidating their strengths. The better players also use this forum to try new things or practise something that may be unconventional or new to them. Umpires should be no different in this area.

Before You Get to Practice

Some important things to be aware of before you go to practice include:-

Be aware or plan what you want to do at practice – what part of your game are you going to work on? If you are going to give up a couple of hours to go to training then plan your session in order to achieve something for yourself. Don’t attend just because you “have to” – aim to get something out of it.

Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and identify if net practice may be of some use to you to improve these areas.

Don’t try and improve or practice everything at once. Plan to work on one specific part of your game at the one time, that way you can focus entirely on that area. For example, if you want to work on “the ball pitching in line with leg stump”, then forget about no balls and where the ball may have gone after pitching and concentrate solely on where the ball pitches until you have improved that area. Then put the sequence of watching and judging back into practice. 

If you plan to work on an activity or skill that requires feedback (for example, head movement at the bowler’s end for picking up no balls), then organize another Umpire or the Coach to work with you while you practice this skill. Don’t be afraid to involve other Umpires and the Coach in your skill development exercises – the feedback can be then discussed and training method refined if necessary.

What Can Be Done at Net Practice?

Net practice is the place for skill development and for trying new things. Don’t be afraid to experiment and look at things from a new perspective. For example, instead of always positioning yourself at the bowler’s end at practice, you could try...

- Standing behind the batsman (at the back of the net)

- Standing next to the batsman (off side or leg side)

- Standing in line with the popping crease at the bowler’s end.

The above positions could be used to work on a number of judgement skills including, but not limited to, no balls, LBW, bat pads and catches at the wicket.

Here is a list of possible skill areas that could be worked on or addressed at net practice:

- No balls (Front foot and above head height)

- Wides (Laws of Cricket and one day playing conditions)

- Balls pitching in line with the stumps

- Picking up the flight / line of the ball

- Concentration and focus routine

- Communication / rapport with Captain, Coach and players

- LBW decisions (could be broken down further into the 4 questions)

- Caught behind decisions

- Ball counting routine

- Head movement (eye movement)

- Player traits (seeing players for the first time and being able to deal with their “playing style”)

- Cardiovascular fitness / Core strength / Flexibility

- Run out decisions (if there is a centre wicket practice as well)

- Bowler’s follow through – danger area

Examples of Skill Development Activities at Net Practice

1. Front foot no balls

Here are a few suggestions as to how this skill can be developed or improved at net practice. 

Firstly, you can establish how accurate your judgement is. Stand at the bowler’s end (back as far as you would in a match) and have a partner stand on the popping crease. Call the no balls as you judge them with the net bowlers and then ask your training partner for feedback after each call. You could also discuss distance behind or over the popping crease in order to achieve the same objective.

Secondly, you could stand in line with the bowler’s popping crease if there are bowlers in your net that are hard to judge. You can gain your own perception of what the bowlers are doing with their front foot. 

Thirdly, you could experiment with moving closer or further away from the stumps to get a ‘better look’ at where the front foot is landing – particularly if the bowler obscures the view of his front foot with his other leg. When undertaking this activity, just concentrate on the placement of the front foot. Do not concern yourself with the other elements of the delivery (although be careful that the batsman does not hit the ball back at you!). Once you feel that you have achieved your desired outcome here; then put this skill to work in line with the processes of judging a full delivery sequence.

2. Ball pitching in line or outside off stump

Here are a few suggestions as to how this skill can be developed or improved at net practice. 

Firstly, you should pick a net or organize a net with either a left hand batsman with right arm bowlers or a right hand batsman with left arm bowlers. Focus on picking up where the ball pitches only and tell yourself or your partner (who may be standing directly behind you) where the ball pitched.

Secondly, you could use a bowling machine for the same purpose. The balls will land in a similar area but they will not all be the same. The players are often using these bowling machines in the nets – you can arrange to stand behind one while they are practicing an appropriate shot. Focus on where the ball pitches and call out loud what line the ball pitched on (e.g. outside leg, middle and leg etc). This could be done with a training partner who stands behind you and providing you are both standing on the same line, you could compare judgments. Alternatively, you could investigate the use of using the net camera and the then viewing a recording of your judgments after you have catalogued the deliveries.

Thirdly, you could prepare an indoor net by using tape on the pitch to mark a leg stump line and use a bowling machine as described above. The judgement calls should be relatively easy with the taped line, but once you have got this mastered, you could try removing the tape and testing you judgement as described above.

Summary

- Net practice is for your benefit – use your time wisely

- Plan your practice sessions

- Don’t get distracted

- Work on one skill at a time

- Try new things – experiment

- Use all the facilities available to help you

- Work with a partner if appropriate

- Review and evaluate your progress with your partner or Coach

- Enjoy and fully participate in the session 

Article courtesy of ICC 

General advice to Umpires and Scorers

These notes are for the guidance of umpires and put forward with the aim of ensuring greater consistency of practice. General Drink intervals. Umpires should not remove the bails at drinks intervals. Left- and right-handed batsmen. Umpires need not cross over for left- and right-handed batsmen; it is a matter for individual judgement whether there is any advantage in so doing. Make sure you advise the fielding captain of your intentions. Sometimes the low sun will make it hard to see the crease line. In that case you will stand to the side where the sun is behind your back. Smoking - Umpires must not smoke on the field of play at any time. Umpires must be present for the toss 30 minutes before the scheduled starting time. This means moving out to the pitch five minutes earlier to give the captains time to get there on time. Signalling Umpires should signal to each other after the 4th fair ball of the over. This is done by showing two fingers of one hand, with the hand pointing towards the ground, towards the other umpire. Wide: Umpires must turn to face the scorers to make the wide-ball signal. Bowling Change: Umpires should signal a bowling change to the scorers. (Pointing to the bowler is recommended.) LBW or Caught: If there is likely to be any doubt on the part of the scorers, the umpire should signal to the scorers. (Suggestion: cupped hands for caught; tapped 'pad' for lbw.) Wides and No balls:  Requires an initial call and signal, followed by a signal to the scorers when the ball is dead. Holding the initial signal for a second or two can alert the scorers to the fact that an 'official' signal will be coming. It is not acceptable to make only one signal. Pre-signal: Umpires should give a 'pre-signal' when runs are going to be signalled as byes or leg-byes. (Usually this is a hand extended slightly and below waist height. It is a good idea to tell the scorers that you intend to use a 'pre-signal'. Resumptions:  At any resumption in play (including drinks intervals), the umpires must do all the checks required at the start of an innings. These checks include signalling to the scorers to ensure that they are ready. Height of the ball:  Striker's-end umpire should give a positive indication of height when the ball is over waist height or shoulder height, preferably by placing a hand at the appropriate level and raising it slightly. Striker's Position:  Striker's-end umpire should hold her/his hands apart to indicate the distance from the striker's back foot to the popping crease. Team Sheets: Umpires must ensure that team sheets are correctly filled in and signed. Ages of under-age players must be carefully checked so that restrictions on young players can be managed. Extra vigilance is required in Junior cricket. It is best practice to ensure that each player is given two names or at a minimum an initial and surname. Leg-side (One-Day) Wides: Any ball that passes down the leg side of the batsman should be called a wide - it is a good idea to explain this at the pre-toss meeting with the captains. Beamers: Umpires absolutely must issue the mandatory warning for all beamers, regardless of whether they are likely to be dangerous. Failure to do so is unacceptable. Front-Foot No Balls:  requires umpires to be certain that the delivery is legal. In case of doubt, call 'No ball'. Scorers Intervals: Generally scorers should approach umpires at the tea interval (between innings) to advise them of the score. (Umpires will not usually go straight up to the scorers at the close of an innings when they are very busy doing their final checks.) Junior Cricket: The quality of scorers at Junior levels is very variable. Umpires should be patient but persistent in getting acknowledgements of signals. Umpires are encouraged to use a 'pre-signal' so that scorers may be alerted to the fact that a signal will follow when the ball is dead. It is a good idea to ask umpires what their 'pre-signal' is. Acknowledgements: The scorers' practice of repeating the signal back to the umpires is recommended. (Umpires should wait until they have received an acknowledgement for the first signal before making a second signal.)

Characteristics needed for successful Recreational Umpires

A recreational umpire is a player in a match who acts as an umpire for a period in the match he/she is taking part in. Almost always you will be a member of the batting side.

SUCCESSFUL CHARACTERISTICS

• Concentration skills - ability to switch on and off between deliveries.
• Good man-management skills - calm demeanour in times of conflict.
• Sense of humour - show that you are enjoying the match and prepared to share a joke with the players. Smile!
• Communication skills - deal with any discussion of your decisions in a calm and clear manner.
• Strong resilient character - confident in your ability to deal with criticism.
• Resistant to pressure - not influenced by the loudness of appeals.
• Respectful and Respected - both teams are happy to have you as an umpire.
• Impartial - show the opposition that you will not favour your own side.
• Positive attitude / approach - show the players that you are happy to be performing this important role.
• Punctual - be on the field after an interval at the correct time and before the players.
• Team player - consult with and support your fellow umpire(s).
• Smart (in appearance) - dressed appropriately. Avoid bare feet and shorts.
• Able to apply common sense - If in doubt, consult the law book and/or the local competition playing conditions.
• Consistency (of decisions) - don't follow a bad decision with another bad decision to 'even the score'.
• Passionate about cricket - if you are not, what are you doing there?
• Passionate about the Spirit of Cricket - be prepared to step in if players are not following the code of conduct.
• Courageous - make the right decision, no matter the state of the match.
• Un-obstructive - let the players get on with the match.
• Knowledgeable of Laws of cricket - take the time before the start of each season to re-familiarize yourself with the current laws and playing conditions.
• Understanding of players needs - all the players you are umpiring must be respected, no matter previous interactions you may have had with them.
• Learns from experience - don't repeat past mistakes.
• Uses appropriate language - speak to the players in the same respectful manner that you would expect to be spoken to.