It's whining week for me so here's another one ...
At the beginning of every season there is an umpires/captains meeting where the umpires ram rules and regs down the captain's throats.
At the start of the season we ( local Prem inspection committee ) inspect all grounds and one of the things we keep telling clubs is the correct marking of pitches.
Umpires whine on their report sheets about pitches that don't have all the correct markings.
So ...
Yesterday our 1's are at home on a brand new pitch bang in the middle of the square. Two weeks prep as usual and it looked a decent deck. As usual again this pitch will now have to get through 2 weeks of cricket and several games.
So we bowl first. Ex Derby and England player Kim Barnett opens the batting for the visitors and sets up camp and bats all through for 110 not out out of a total of 210.
Our Vice Chairman, who is a really lovely bloke, opens the bowling and bowls an excellent spell of 20 overs ( right arm over ... medium pace ).
I go out at tea to roll and remark and there is a crater 10 feet in front of the batting crease and in line with leg stump. This a brand new track that is now bo!!ocksed.
I go into the pavilion and approach the ump, who I've known for years, and ask him why the hell he's allowed a bowler to bowl 20 overs and destroy the pitch.
... " I told him a million times to get off the pitch ... but it's your team's problem 'cos they've got bat second on it "
I reminded him, quite firmly, that he only needs to tell him twice ... and then he's off for the day.
What is the point in putting these marks there if the umps are doing nothing about it.
Next week the 2's will have to play on this and then the U17s etc.
Ironically ... Barnett took our last wicket, to win the game for the visitors, with a ball that pitched in the rough and bowled our number 10 around his legs.
Come on umps ... just do your job!
Skires
I also have given up why i bother to put the five foot marks on for.
Virtually every week there is a footmark where you have described.
Poor old lefties.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
In our league the umps have been declining runs if the batsmen run on the danger zone, one warning given for the team, would be nice to have consistancy across the leagues for both bat and ball
Don't talk to me about Contractors Wonka, I am one myself......
With notable acceptions, an awful lot of umpires in our league need new ears, new eyes and above all new BALLS!
7 Jun 2011 by mackay
Not a popular opinion I'm sure, but I'd like to see the protected area done away with and give the spinners more opportunity. However, if they are there then I agree that it is frustrating that this is allowed to happen and the groundsman could subsequently get flack about his pitches 'falling to bits'.
Interesting idea mackay but you could have a real farce we the batting side do there best to damage the surface and i also think that a lot of wickets will become unuseable on day one. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
7 Jun 2011 by A J
Spoke to our trusty area rep yesterday vic. Just relocating further south , so nothing to worry about.
Hope you had a good break?
Andy.
Grow in grace...........
7 Jun 2011 by mackay
Well the umpires would have to see fair play. Difficult to police without markings I suppose.
I spoke to one of our most experienced umpires last week and he admitted he didn't know how to mark a pitch.
World Heavyweight Champ
7 Jun 2011 by mackay
Last year we held a day at Hove for league umpires to help them understand things from a groundsmans point of view and to learn a bit more about marking pitches. My Deputy took them on to the square and in the nets and explained what we do and how we do it and why and then Ian Gould (who gave his time for free) gave them the First Class Umpires angle. It was a great success. Funnily enough, though the groundsmen in the county had wanted the umpires to increase their understanding, it was the umpires association that requested it.
The umps have a difficult job to do, are much maligned and under appreciated and they are not all hell bent on opressing the groundsman so perhaps the way forward is to help them to help you.
Agreed Andy, no one spends all day umpiring for forty quid or less unless you love cricket, However, it aint rocket science doing some basic things like checking follow throughs not trespassing onto the danger areas
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Im lucky being a qualified umpire, rugby ref as well as a groundsman i have a good relationship with the umpires and if you talk to them they are very good at keeping a weathered eye open. However with the new law change giving the umpires complete control of the grounds after the toss i hung about with the covers for 3 mins in the pouring rain before i got the signal to pull them on. I then heard from an umpire the covers didnt come on quick enough how did he think one man was going to get the covers on any quicker no player helped. Therefore we need them on before it rains hard not after. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
This bloke Ian, thought you should have got them on quicker because he is a pr"t. But why on earth dudnt the players help?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Oh yes a new umpire young who thinks if he keeps talking he will look intelligent it was a mcc v kent u17 s match so you cant expect help. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
Why not? If you are on your own?
Ar@eholes
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
during a match if they players don't put the covers on then they don't go on. That goes for representative matches as well.
Ok, if it were a 1st class game then I'd not expect players to help, but then I'd have helpers there anyway - not that we're likely to host that standard for a long while yet.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
MCC, they turn up, put out their soppy flag and have a nice free days food and cricket for nothing.
Just club cricketers on the ponce
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Funny how some things become totally irrelivant mum rushed into hospital posible stroke and heart attack luckily came round this pm. I have a 90 acre of grounds to manage on three sites and i cant have my team sitting around on the cricket ground all day the school teams are very good with the covers. All this after us doing this game as a favour. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
Very sorry about your Mum mate. Hope she is ok. Makes you wonder what you were worrying about day to day things for.
Yes does put things in proportion but bills have to paid eh?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
MCC, they turn up, put out their soppy flag and have a nice free days food and cricket for nothing.
Just club cricketers on the ponce
----------------------------
Classic Barry. You may have something there.
Thanks Barry, News is better feeling and power back down left side. The MCC as a whole are fine its just some characters in the organisation that are poor. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
Good news mate.Hope the progression continues.
MCC- hmmm, not impressed by them personally. But i am in a minority there i suppose.
We played the CCC on our ground and they paid for using the ground and all the food, why should the MCC be any different?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
I do agree with you and at my place it concerns me that lots of adult teams like playing school teams. No one of course pays for teas etc when playing the school here. Ian
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
Well they know the ground will be nice and the food and its all free.
And the schools lap up the kudos of playing the MCC.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
9 Jun 2011 by Pat Skires Last edited 9 Jun 2011
Ian, best wishes to your Mum fella.
This was never a go at that one umpire.
He's a decent guy and a decent umpire.
I see this happening several times a season, year after year. Different umps.
I just want the umpires to understand that that pitch will be needed for several games over the next 2 weeks or so. ALL those players deserve to be playing on a decent surface.
If the bowler oversteps the front line the umps have no problem shouting No Ball all day ... so get them off the protected area. We are not talking marginal here.
On a number of occasions I've tried explaining this to umps but I've always had the same " I did tell him .. what else could I do ? ".
Easy ...
The marks are there ... show them the scuff marks and tell them to get off. A couple of friendly warnings ... then it's an official warning etc etc.
I agree Pat. Virtually every week there is footprint in the protected area.
Be interesting this week, mate of mine umpiring our firsts. Not only is he a good umpire but a recently retired groundsman of 20 years experience. Our overseas is a culprit with his right foot after the delivery stride.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
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