The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the release of its first-ever education course for aspiring Match Officials – the ICC Umpire Foundation Certificate.

The entry-level course is designed to introduce learners to the basic fundamentals of umpiring so that they can gain the knowledge and the confidence required to officiate games at club level.

This newly released resource is completely free to access and delivered entirely online through an innovative micro-learning approach, which enables courses to be completed at any pace and through short, sharp modules whether at home on a computer or on the move via a mobile device.

As participation continues to grow across global cricket communities, the newest offering furthers the ambition of the ICC Training and Education programme, ultimately seeking to improve the playing experience in member nations by improving access to world-class education resources.

Aspiring coaches and umpires can sign up to study ICC Training and Education courses by registering here.

The ICC Umpire Foundation Certificate follows the successful release of other resources as part of the Training and Education programme. The programme launched in October 2021 with the release of the ICC Coaching Foundation Certificate – the first step on the ICC’s coach education pathway which recently celebrated its 6,000th global graduate.

Other courses that have since experienced strong global uptake have been the ICC Coaching Course Level 1, the ICC Pitch Curator Foundation Certificate, and the criiio Cricket Programme Facilitator Training Course.

Speaking on the launch of the ICC’s first-ever certified umpire education course, General Manager – Development William Glenwright commented, “The release of the ICC Umpire Foundation Certificate represents a landmark moment in the development of the sport. With better access to education courses than ever before, the ICC continues its commitment to improving the playing experience for participants around the world.

“This course complements the other resources we have launched over the last two years to drive a better standard of coaches, umpires and curators in member nations.”

Further courses are also scheduled to be released later in 2023, including the ICC Coaching Course Level 2.

Key to the future success of the course will be the workforce trained by the ICC to accredit umpires across 108 member nations. Following a week-long workshop delivered in Dubai last month, the first cohort of 18 Umpiring Master Educators undertook theory and practical sessions in preparation for the launch of the new course.

ICC Master Educators represent the top tier in the workforce hierarchy that supports the delivery of education programmes in ICC Member nations. They are responsible for training and accrediting ICC Tutors – while Tutors themselves deliver courses to accredit prospective coaches, umpires and pitch curators.

Glenwright added, “By training a global workforce of Master Educators, we are able to ensure that every ICC Member has the tools necessary to train a local workforce so that they can deliver the different elements of the ICC Training and Education programme as and when they need to.”

Certified among the first cohort of ICC Umpire Master Educators in Dubai last month, Claire Polosak commented, “I am thrilled to be part of the first group of Master Educators delivering ICC Umpire education courses to passionate communities in my region.

“The ICC Training and Education programme has already enjoyed profound success in growing the number and standard of qualified coaches around the world, and myself and the rest of the group are excited to see the impact that this resource will have on increasing the number of high-quality umpires officiating cricket matches around the world.”

More information about ICC Training and Education courses can be found at https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/development/training-and-education

With thanks to the ICC

As part of its strategic commitment to a gender equitable sport, the ICC has focused on increasing the number of international female match officials, with women comprising eight of the 15 match officials at this event.

India’s GS Lakshmi, who was the first woman ever in the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees, has been named as the Match Referee for the final. She also oversaw the semi-final between England and South Africa at the same venue.

Lauren Agenbag of South Africa and Kim Cotton of New Zealand will be the two On-field Umpires while West Indies’ Jacqueline Williams, who in 2020 became the first female to officiate as the Third Umpire in a men’s international match, will also take charge as the TV Umpire here. Langton Rusere of Zimbabwe will be the Fourth Umpire.

Cotton was the only woman Match Official in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 between Australia and India at the MCG.

With thanks to the ICC

Naeem Ashraf, Anthony Harris, Sue Redfern, Surendiran Shanmugam and Jack Shantry join the new 34-person Professional Umpires’ Team, which has been established following an independent review into officiating carried out last year.

The independent review sought to understand how the ECB can continue to best attract, appoint, develop, performance manage and evaluate match officials from all backgrounds.

One of the key recommendations was to create a single pool of umpires to replace the previous system which saw a First-Class Panel of umpires, backed up by a part-time Reserve Panel.

Members of the Professional Umpires’ Team are available to stand in women’s professional cricket (Women’s Regional competitions and The Hundred) and men’s professional cricket (County Second XI, Royal London Cup, Vitality Blast, The Hundred and LV= Insurance County Championship).

All members of the Professional Umpires’ Team will now have the support to allow them to concentrate solely on umpiring as a career.

Redfern, currently in New Zealand where she is officiating at the ICC Women’s World Cup, will continue to be available to officiate women’s international cricket in addition to the opportunities her appointment to the Professional Umpires’ Team will provide.

The five appointments are all promoted from the National Panel of umpires and showcase the value of a clear pathway into professional ranks.

Former Worcestershire left-armer Shantry (Shropshire) has developed as an umpire in recreational cricket following his retirement as a player in 2017 and joins former Pakistan international Ashraf (Lancashire), Harris (Shropshire) and Shanmugam (Northamptonshire) who, like Redfern (Staffordshire), have been appointed following a recruitment process overseen by the new diverse Officiating Oversight Panel.

Their appointments come following the retirements of Jeff Evans (2019), Jeremy Lloyds (2019), Ian Gould (2021) and Ian Ramage (2021) and ensure a full list of umpires for the new season.

ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball, said: “The appointment of these five umpires is richly deserved for their consistently high performances over recent times.

“The ECB has a long history of developing some of the best match officials in the world and we are at a point, after the independent review into Officiating last year, where we have opportunity to drive change to be better.

“We are making good progress on that journey and these appointments are important steps as we establish a clearer and fairer pathway for anyone who wants to be an umpire.

“Additionally, we are close to finalising further contracts for a group of female umpires so they can be better supported from both a performance and financial perspective.

“I would also like to express my thanks and gratitude to Jeff Evans, Jeremy Lloyds, Ian Gould and Ian Ramage who retired from umpiring during the pandemic. Their service to the game has been significant.”

With thanks to the ECB

• 12 women match officials now part of different ICC panels as India’s Janani Narayanan and Vrinda Rathi named in International Panel of ICC Development Umpires

The announcement comes soon after the launch of 100% Cricket, a 12-month campaign anticipated to build on the momentum of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. The campaign, launched just before 86,174 people watched the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day, aims to create more excitement around the women’s game ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.

Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees: “These are exciting times for women’s cricket, and it is only appropriate that we have more women officials at the international level. We will work proactively with Member Boards to give female officials the pathway needed for their growth.

“I am sure Janani and Vrinda are looking forward to their time on the panel. I wish them all the best and hope they not only perform well on assignment, but continue to develop their skillset with our support as they travel along their journey.”

Narayanan, 34, who idolizes the late David Shepherd of England and retired India umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan, has been umpiring in Indian domestic tournaments since 2018.

Janani Narayanan: “It feels great to know that Vrinda and I have been inducted into the ICC’s development panel. This gives me the chance to learn from seniors on the circuit and improve in the years to come. Cricket has become part of my daily routine since the 90s and I look forward to be associated with the sport at a higher level.

“I take this opportunity to thank the BCCI for the opportunities given and the ICC for giving me this break. I would like to thank Mr Radhakrishnan, who has been my mentor since I first started umpiring. I would also like to thank my parents who never stopped me from watching cricket on TV, my senior umpires Sai Darshan, Ashwin Kumar and all my state panel umpires, national panel umpires and referees who have helped me learn and grow.

Rathi, 31, a former varsity player who has kept scores in international matches, has also been umpiring in Indian domestic cricket since 2018. Rathi was inspired to take up umpiring after watching retired woman umpire Kathy Cross of New Zealand at the Women’s World Cup 2013 and feels umpiring is a natural progression for her.

Vrinda Rathi: “I feel privileged to be named in ICC’s development panel as this opens new avenues for me. I am sure I will get to learn a lot from other members of the panel and look forward to future assignments.

“Having played cricket and also officiated as a scorer, this was a natural progression for me and I am happy at the way things have unfolded.

“I am thankful to the BCCI for backing me over the years and to the ICC for giving me this opportunity. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my family, colleagues and mentors for all the help and support over the years.”

The other ICC women match officials are: GS Lakshmi, Shandre Fritz (International Panel Match Referees); Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Shivani Mishra, Claire Polosak, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Mary Waldron, Jacquline Williams (all International Panel of ICC Development Umpires).

The complete ICC Umpire and Referee Panels can be found here.

The ECB Association of Cricket Officials (ACO) is set to launch a new female officiating project to encourage more women and girls to become active umpires and scorers in the game.  The ECB ACO currently stands as the largest group of cricket officials in the world, but just six percent of the 7,800 members are female.  The new campaign, which will be unveiled at the end of 2014, sets out to target the recruitment, development and deployment of more female officials across all levels of the game.

In addition to simply encouraging more women and girls to get involved with officiating in recreational cricket, the project will specifically aim to identify and support talented female umpires through a bespoke development pathway, with the overall aim of preparing them for international match appointments.

As part of the officiating recruitment drive, England women’s cricketers Tammy Beaumont, Natasha Farrant and Laura Marsh pitted their own umpiring skills against each other and Hawk-Eye ball tracking technology in the MCC Cricket Academy last week.  During the session at Lord’s, the players took it in turns to make a series of tricky LBW decisions, before heading up to the performance analysis suite to see exactly how many the Hawk-Eye technology projected that they got right.  They were joined on the day by current ACO umpires Janet Rogers and Sophie Mclelland, who offered tips and guidance, before putting their own decision making to the test.

To watch the England women’s trio take on Hawk-Eye, please click here.

Speaking about the ACO’s push to recruit more female officials, England women’s all-rounder, Laura Marsh, said: “The Hawk-Eye session was really enjoyable and gave us all a real insight into just how difficult it is for umpires to make such quick and close decisions under pressure.  It has certainly been a learning experience, and I have the utmost respect for the likes of Janet and Sophie who give up their spare time to umpire, ensuring that thousands of matches run smoothly across the country every weekend during the summer.  As a player, women’s cricket has developed almost beyond recognition since my international career started over eight years ago, and it is fantastic to hear that the ECB ACO is now instigating a clear strategy to encourage more women and girls to get involved with, and progress along, the officiating pathway.”

ECB’s Managing Director of Cricket Partnerships, Mike Gatting, added: “Over the last ten years, tremendous progress has been made at all levels of the women’s game in England – from record numbers participating at the grassroots to the England women’s team now operating as fulltime professional cricketers.  However, there is a big gap when it comes to the number of women and girls taking on officiating roles, particularly as umpires out in the middle.  The ECB ACO is working hard to address this gap, and through a range of local and national initiatives that will be launched over the next year, it is hoped that there will be significantly more female officials involved at all levels of cricket in the coming seasons.”

To find out more about joining the ECB ACO, the range of umpiring and scoring courses available and how to get involved with cricket officiating, please visit the ECB Association of Cricket Officials.

Via ECB.co.uk