• Mid-Season Meeting for all umpires
  Our mid-season meeting will be held at 8pm on Thursday, 16th July at Clontarf. In the past, this meeting has proved to be particularly valuable, and well attended, so everyone is urged to make a big effort to come.

• Meeting for new umpires
  The meeting for this season's new umpires will be held at 8pm on Tuesday 16th June at Malahide CC. Those who have made their debuts this season are invited and should let Alan Tuffery know whether they intend to be there. They may also suggest topics they wish to raise.

• Guidance for umpires
  A fielder chasing a ball down to fine leg, did a slide and mimed a pickup & throw while still about 15m away from the ball and while the batsmen were running. The umpires consulted and considered that this could well constitute an attempt to distract the batsmen under Law 42.5. When they spoke to the captains and the fielder, the latter stated that it was a practice that had been coached in his home country! The umpires insisted that it was against the Spirit of Cricket and possibly Law 42.5.

  We suggest that umpires keep an eye out for this practice and be prepared to act under Law 42.5, The correct procedure, if the umpire considers that an attempt to cause a distraction, is to call and signal "Dead ball", and inform your colleague and the fielding captain of the reason. In addition, neither batsman shall be out, 5 penalty runs shall be awarded and the run in progress shall also be awarded, even if the batsmen have not crossed. The ball shall not count as one of the over and the batsmen shall decide which of them shall face the next delivery. A formal report must be made under the disciplinary procedure.

• Regulations
  The vast majority of the Regulations for the 2009 LCU and CI competitions are now available in our Document Library.

• Grading
  For the 2009 season the LCU&SA are utilising a new online system for accepting grading reports on umpires. Please follow the link on the left entitled Grading to see this system. We would request all captains and umpires, as far as possible, to use this new system instead of the paper forms. Captains should fill out this form, while umpires should fill out the Colleague grading form here.

• Season start
  With the first round of fixtures for the 2009 season taking place this weekend, good luck to all umpires & scorers throughout the season!

  The appointments for this weekend are available in the Appointments section.

• One-day wides
  In the interests of consistency among umpires, the following has been decided with respect to balls down the leg side in matches where one-day wides apply. ALL balls down the leg are to be called Wide, with the SOLE exception of a ball which passes between the batsman and his wicket. All umpires are urged to implement this forthwith so that players can have no doubt about what is or what is not a one-day leg-side wide.

• Pre-season meetings
  Pre-season meetings are just around the corner, with the start of the season hard on their heels. The meeting for captains in on April 21st, while the meeting for umpires and scorers takes place on April 7th. It is absolutely essential for you to attend if you intend to officiate at any level of cricket this season!

• AGM Reports
  The following reports from the Association's AGM are now available:
  • Acting Honorary Secretary's Report
  • Appointment Secretary's Report
  • Training Officer's Report

• Bill Frindall
  As most readers will now be aware, Bill Frindall sadly passed away on January 29th 2009. His contribution to the science of cricket scoring was immense, with his Frindall linear method now the accepted method of recording a game at the highest levels. He also helped enormously to raise the profile of scoring as an integral part of the game, and his sometimes-acerbic interjections on Test Match Special will be missed by all who enjoy that programme. The Association sends its' sympathies to Bill's family and many friends around the world.

• Association Annual General Meeting
  The Association's Annual General Meeting will be held at 8pm on Tuesday, 24th February at Phoenix CC.

• Happy New Year!
  Happy New Year to all Association members, friends and cricketing colleagues around the world!
• Association Workshop
  The workshop will aim to generate procedures for dealing with specific crises by pooling the collective wisdom and experience of the members. A defined schedule or 'Job Card' will be devised for three scenarios.

  This technique has been pioneered by colleagues in New Zealand under the aegis of Doug Cowie, ICC Umpires Manager. He says: 'We have been doing some work on this with a NZ High Performance consultant. We believe in training umpires into a process they can use often - as they come across situations where they need to 'manage' rather than adjudicate on appeals. We call it the Job Card approach.'

  So come along to Phoenix CC for 8 pm on Tuesday next (13th Jan) and brig your brains, a pen and possibly Laws. Paper will be provided. Participants will work in small groups.

  If you have an idea for a reasonably complex situation that you would like help with, please drop me a note and we may be able to slip it into a future workshop.

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