ACO NEWSLETTER - Ecb - England and Wales Cricket Board

Gough’s Top TipThe youngest umpire on the ECB Full ListMichael is taking a break for this issue and he too is taking a breakfrom all cricket umpiring. That doesn’t mean he has put officiatingcompletely to one side, as his winter is taken up by refereeing footballat amateur level which he sees as an ideal way to hone skills such asplayer management and positioning. Michael will be back on this pagewith another top tip in the New Year.Simon Taufel speaks to the Young OfficialsDays before Simon Taufel announced his retirement from International umpiringto take on a new role as the ICC’s Pereformance and Training Manager,ECB ACO’s Young Officials were given the rare opportunity to speak tothe man himself for an hour in the ECB Boardroom at Lord’s.Simon is well versed in ECB ACO’s Young Officials’ development projectand is a keen supporter, having officiated his first international test match atthe age of 29. He remains the youngest to date.Simon was more than willing to stop off at Lord’s on route to the Oval wherehe was to conduct a pitch inspection for the third ODI between England andSouth Africa.Hugo Blogg, 15, has been a part of the Young Officials squads for two yearsnow, and wrote this report about the meeting:Sometimes, an hour feels like a century, sometimes, an hour flies by. When youmeet Simon Taufel time just slips through your fingers as easily as air. That wascertainly the case when an invited panel of Young Officials had the opportunity tomeet and chat with him towards the end of the season at Lord’s. It was a wonderfulseminar cut short due to Simon having to leave to prepare for England vs. SouthAfrica 3rd ODI over the river at the Oval which was a reasonable get out clause…But seriously, for some, travelling over 3 hours in order to meet him, it wouldhave been worth it just to sit in the ECB Board Room and enjoy the comfort of theleather conference chairs - an experience in itself - not to mention the tea and biscuits!However, it would be inexcusable for me to not mention the real deal. It wasclear from the outset that this was to be no mere Q&A session or just a chance for aphoto opportunity.As one of the world’s premier officials Simon not only has considerable umpiringexperience, but he managed to convey his knowledge fluently, without falteringonce in the entire hour long session. His self-determination and motivation was evidentin his speech, and his eyes conveyed confidence. He freely offloaded hisknowledge to us as he clearly wanted us to become better officials. To tell you thetruth, he made me really think about my umpiring experiences and ways I can improve.He invited our group to suggest topics to be discussed, for example, preparationbefore the match and analysis after the game. He made sure he covered everysection of his match routine, even showing us the pages of notes he had for the ODI- quite a dossier! It was a real eye-opener into the amount of preparation it takes fora professional umpire.We went through other topics like self-analysis, and he explained to us that hebelieves in improving after every game, writing notes and setting targets for eachmatch. We even covered the crucial topic of cricket teas, where he said: ‘it’s hard tolook further than Lord’s’. But, on a more important note, we discussed the variousstages of umpiring a match from pre-match tasks to post-game reflection. In concluding,he said ‘if your inputs are right, then the output is going to be right’.It was a memorable and inspiring experience to have met him and as we know,Simon is stepping down from the ICC Umpires Panel and has taken on a new jobas Umpire Performance and Training Manager for the ICC. Now he has retiredfrom umpiring ‘in the middle’, I wouldn’t mind having him as my coach - and I’msure neither would you!60secondswitha YoungOfficialName: Nathan BradleyAge: 20At the age of 31, Michael Goughis the youngest umpire on theECB 1st class list. At the NatWestPCA Awards Dinner beforeChristmas, Michael was namedas PCA umpire of the year.Somewhat belatedly, but no lesssincerely we are pleased to offerMichael our congratulations onthis excellent achievement.Leagues: Devon League ‘B’ DivisionHow long have you been scoring?I haven’t been scoring all that long, so about6 monthsWhat qualifications have you taken?I haven’t done any yet, but I am expecting toenrol on a Level 1 correspondence coursewithin the next few weeks, so that I amready to go from the beginning of nextseason.How has ECB ACO helped you?My involvement with ACO has only beenshort but in that time they have given mesome useful contacts and I have met fellowscorers and made some good friends.What do you like about scoring?It appeals to both sides of me, the cricket fanand the person who loves data and statistics.What challenges do you face whenscoring?Access is sometimes difficult in mywheelchair, and keeping track of bowlers’overs.Where do you see yourself in fiveyears?I’d like to be scoring professionally (or atleast on the way) if I’m deemed to have theskill.Do you have any unusual scoringexperiences?My colleague and I both missed a no-ballsignal which caused a consternation whenwe thought it was an 8 ball over! And myexcellent trip to score a corporate day atLord’s.Any other comments…I said access is sometimes difficult, it is, butpeople do their best to help in any way theycan.e-mail us at ecbaco@ecb.co.uk 17 contact us on 0121 446 2710