ACO NEWSLETTER - Ecb - England and Wales Cricket Board

ALL SESSIONSYou vs Hawkeyewritten by Aviral Gupta (Oxfordshire)During this popular session at the indoor school, a batsman faced thebowling machine operated by a coach. The participating umpire tooktheir normal position just below the bowling machine to adjudicateLBWs. When the ball hit the batsman’s pads and the bowling machinecoach believed it to be a close LBW call, he appealed. The umpire thengave his decision (out or not out) and marked on a sheet of paper wherethe ball pitched and the point of impact when strikingthe batsman’s pad. Every umpire faced 6 suchLBW appeals.MCC’s Ashish Gusani then took all the participantsthrough each of their six appeals andshowed Hawkeye’s decision based on ball trackingand trajectory. All six participants then comparedtheir own decisions against Hawkeye.Our group had varied results with some umpiresgetting up to 6 out of 6 correct and somegetting 3 out of 6 correct. For the umpires, thesession tested their judgement of LBWs againsttechnology which instantly made this a challenging yet fascinatingexperience. One also appreciated the pressure faced by umpires atthe international level as each and every decision is scrutinised bytechnology!All Seminars – Tour of Lord’swritten by James O’Doherty (Wiltshire)We began in the Media Centre where the view was terrific. Therewere also lots of interesting facts about its design andawards that it has received since it was built in 1999.Next it was on to the away changing room, whereyou can see the honour’s board and stand in the sameroom as all those cricketing greats that have played atthe ground. The same can be said for the Long Roomwhich really brings home the sense of history of thisgreat sporting arena.Finally we are taken to the Museum where you’re allowedto browse around and see the original AshesUrn, which never leaves the grounds of Lord’s. Ourtour guide made the tour all the more enjoyable.SESSION 1The Sporting Edgewritten by Ray Allen (Devon)Attending for the first time I was keento be open to new ideas which wouldallow me to improve as an umpire. I attendedthe ses sion, Sporting Edge withJeremy Snape, who looked to highlightthe importance of preparing mentally aswell as physically.Jeremy discussed the following points;How during performance, pressure andstress can take hold making you rush adecision, completely out of character“Bank” in your mind great decisionsfrom past experiences, allowing you tobe confident in your decision makingAs you consider your next decision, bementally prepared to succeed and allowyourself to perform at your highest levelNever be rushed, prepare for everythingand arrive early for your game with a positivemind setWhat would “Balcony Boy” do? If youwere off the field watching, things can beviewed in a calm manner without anystress; every decision would seem easyThese points were backed up by videoclips of sport stars discussing their ownnerves leading up to events and performances.By the reaction of the delegateseveryone appeared to enjoy Jeremy’s session.I know I personally learnt a lot.Jeremy SnapeMalcolm Ashtonwritten by Stewart Orrock (Essex)When signing up for the 4 th ECB ACO NationalConference I was spoilt for choice inchoosing my seminars. I opted for MalcolmAshton’s talk in the first session afterthe AGM and before lunch. Malcolm, fortwelve years from 1995 to 2007 the Englandscorer, and more recently with TestMatch Special, gave an informative andentertaining account. He said that his systemwas similar, though not identical, tothat of the late Bill Frindall.He told how he cheekily obtained freepens by way of sponsorship, graphicallydescribed several “interesting” scoreboxesabroad and amused his audience of 40scorers and umpires with a few (edited)stories about recent Test players.Light years from the days of notchingand scratching, scorers now increasinglyuse computers, sometimes linked to websites,and Malcolm, or “Ashtray”, as Englandcricketers affectionately called him,would often produce an analysis for thecoach, with film of a player’s performance.The promised quiz was duly given with aquestion or two every ten minutes. Your correspondentmanaged 3 out of 10, with 5 thewinning score. One of Malcolm’s storiesconcerned a famous England player on tourin New Zealand. At breakfast one day hewas very disappointed to be told that thehotel could not provide any bacon to gowith his egg and tomato. He found this hardto believe in a land with five million sheep!”Umpire Zone with Rowley Williams& Nick Evanswritten by Mike Walker (Hertfordshire)“As I headed off to the ECB offices to attendthe ‘Umpire Zone’ I wondered if Iwould ever get to test my skills against‘Hawkeye’ – yet another conference andmy first choice had proven elusive –again!So what was this ‘Umpire Zone’ Ithought, as I sunk into the very comfortableleather seat in the ECB Boardroom.The packed room listened intently asTony Hemmings introduced RowleyWilliams and Nick Evans (a very goodDavid Beckham look-a-like I thought?)to present ‘Umpire Zone’.It soon became very clear – ‘UmpireZone’ is an obvious progression of the‘Ref- Zone’ that has proven to be so successfulwith Rugby Union and is also beingtrialled with football.As a training aid and skills developmenttool for referees (and hopefully soon, umpires)it is a web-based package that cancomplement training and self-developmentcourses by putting you, the umpire, intoreal match situations. With play backs anddiscussion analysing real match incidents,instantly challenging your knowledge ofthe laws, your man-management skills,dealing with pressure situations and comparingyour reactions/decisions with thoseof international umpires!The ‘motivational’ contribution by JohnNeal was also excellent and demonstratedhow powerful ‘professional standards’ oftraining and development techniques couldbe available even to the budding Level 1umpire – and indeed umpires at all levels.The reaction of the audience was enthusiastic–my earlier disappointment at‘missing out on Hawkeye again’ was forgotten– I could soon have access to a websiteskills and training package that I canutilise all year round.‘Umpire Zone’? – Excellent. Can I haveone for Christmas please?!!!e-mail us at ecbaco@ecb.co.uk 5 contact us on 0121 446 2710