Association of Suffolk Cricket Umpires

READY FOR ACTION: Stephen Lilley (left) with colleague Ron Raisey before a one-day game.

Welcome to the home of the Association of Suffolk Cricket Umpires and Scorers. The Association exists to support all of our members and clubs in this key area of the game, which is sometimes overlooked or simply taken for granted.

Cricket in Suffolk cannot develop without a strong team in this area, and we are always on the look-out for new members.

The Association supports both umpires and officials in the following areas:

Training and development for both new and current officials.
To provide meetings to share best practice and discuss new legislation and directives.
To manage the appointment of umpires and scorers to all of the relevant league structures and county representative sides

Suffolk’s Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers was formed on September 1, 1958, and has been in existence for almost 70 years and, during that time, the association has gone from strength to strength, embracing many changes while staying true to the roots of its origination.

However, we are always looking for new members and the umpires’ training officer, Elliot Spurling, and his assistant, Dave Simmonds, intend to hold the basic ECB course later this year with a follow-up course to help those who wish to progress to league cricket and other matches early in the new year. Full details can be obtained from Elliot, whose e-mail address is below.

Guidance and advice for umpires and scorers’ courses can also be obtained from the association’s secretary, Allison Heathcote, again, details below.

Umpires are provided from the association to all levels of cricket and our aim is to supply those who wish to progress to the East Anglian Premier League. From there, they can be considered for promotion to the National Counties Cricket Association panel (formerly Minor Counties) but we also cover matches in the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship, Suffolk Cup, Suffolk Youth, Suffolk Women, the Iceni Women’s Premier League, as well as Over-50s, Over-60s, Over-70s matches, schools and festival games.

The aim of the association is to get all its members to officiate in games to the best of their ability and use their knowledge of the Laws of Cricket. Players will not always feel that umpires make the right decisions – but then neither do they — and everyone, even at the highest level, makes mistakes. Umpires are only human and the genuine errors, when they occur, are made without a degree of bias to one side or the other.

The association also likes to see progression within its ranks and the support is always there for umpires to reach the highest level available. Over the years, several members have reached the Minor Counties (now NCCA) panel and officiated at County 2nd XI level. All umpires have one advantage over everyone else – they have the best seat in the house.

At present, the association has in excess of 50 members, but it is always on the lookout for more to boost its ranks and provide umpires for teams in Divisions One to Three of the Two Counties. There are also those who may have trained in another part of the country before moving to Suffolk and our association is always pleased to welcome such colleagues.

The membership fee for the Suffolk association currently stands at £10 a year, while those umpires wishing to stand in ECB-organised matches – which oversees everything bar the Two Counties’ games — can also belong to the ECBACO for £30 per annum.

The benefits are many and varied, from social events to refresher sessions on the Laws of Cricket, but the camaraderie that exists within the association is very special and help is always at hand, whether on or off the field.

The following bullet points may also be of interest to those wanting to know more about our association:

After the season finishes, meetings are held on the third Monday of September, November, February and April. The meetings are at Ipswich and East Suffolk CC’s pavilion at Chantry Park, guest speakers are invited and a variety of topics discussed, as well as Law changes or revision of existing ones.
Performances of all umpires are monitored throughout the season via marks from captains. These are totalled up at the end of the season and each umpire is made aware of his own marks and averages.
On the social side, a well-attended and highly enjoyable pre-season dinner is held every year.

Contacts

Chairman – Stephen Lilley – airhorn@uwclub.net
Secretary – Allison Heathcote – allisonh1966@yahoo.co.uk
Treasurer – Dave Aldous – davidaldous63@gmail.com
League appts – Mel Phair – mel.phair@tiscali.co.uk
Training officer: Elliot Spurling – elliotjaspurling@gmail.com