In the gentleman’s sport of cricket, it would not be complete without the humble man in a white coat and hat, watching over the game.

In fact, there are two on each end of the pitch- this helps to get a greater scope of what is going on. Thanks to new technology a third umpire settles off the field- and has many resources and tools to make a final informed decision- tools like the snick-o-meter, which records the sound of the ball hitting the bat. And ball tracing which follows the path of the ball to see where it would end up, to determine if it would hit the wicket.

Unlike a referee that just implements the rules and runs around and blows whistles. An Umpire on the other hand has more responsibility; they inspect the equipment, choose which balls to play with, decide the duration of breaks during a match, judge whether the crease is up to standard, Umpires can even call off matches due to weather and bad lighting and even fine players for misconduct.

There is no doubt cricket has had a facelift. Long are the days where overweight hairy men would bowl and bat and most of the crowd would fall asleep. See my article on “How T20 cricket revolutionised cricket”  With the introduction of T20 cricket, the format encourages sponsors, partnerships, and shares of ownership are bought by corporations. Just like a dragon’s den situation. In return, they get a huge audience as potential customers. Therefore millions and millions are invested, this adds more pressure for the Umpires.

They face serious sticks and sometimes get their lives threatened if they make a decision that does not agree with the fans. Thankfully the third umpire can lighten the load by taking some of the blame, but some fans still don’t see it like that. With the responsibilities and in some cases lives at stake. Umpires get compensated for their time at 100 thousand dollars a year. This works out at 3k per ODI match 5k for a test match 1.5k for a T20 match and 3k for ICC Tournament. All of this and not much attention is given to Umpires outside of the pitch.

The life of an umpire is hard, with over 200 days of work abroad a year, it would make it difficult to raise a family. It was this precise reason why the legendary Umpire Dickie Bird was never married. He wrote an autobiography that sold millions of copies, he was knighted and had a statue made of him with the famous finger. Dickie bird had it all-but the biggest regret is not being married. He said he was married to cricket and got very close but decided otherwise.

Aleem Dar from Pakistan is one of the most experienced umpires in the game. With over 100 test matches and over 200 ODI matches, under his belt and winning umpire of the year 3 times in a row. His house is decorated with trophies and pictures of himself with cricketers and Bollywood film stars. This success is due to accurate decisions, Aleem dar can tell if a ball traveling over 80mph has kissed the bat or not. This is even before the third umpire looked at the cameras. Aleem is over 50 years of age, supports a beard, and has a wife and two kids. Yet his expertise is still in demand. Aleem Dar is part of the elite panel of umpires. This consists of umpires from all over the world to officiate in Test matches and ODI matches.

The Covid 19 epidemic has affected the world, many people are suffering and many competitions have been put on hold. Pakistan was one of the first countries to be hit. However, Aleem Darr felt the need to kindly distribute free food from his restaurant “Darr’s delighto” in Lahore.

So next time you watch a cricket game remember that being an umpire is not as easy as it looks, it involves a lot of responsibility and dedication. Some have regrets whilst others have managed and wouldn’t change a thing.

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As the second most-watched sport after football. Cricket is enjoyed all over the world. The old British sport that spread its wings all over the commonwealth, introducing cricket throughout the world. It grew to be a popular sport in South Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.

Cricket has expanded over the last hundred years all over the planet. But the funny thing is only 12 teams play..2 teams from Europe 5 teams in South Asia, 2 from Africa, 1 in west indies
representing 15 Caribbean countries and 2 from the very bottom of the earth in Australiasia

These countries are full members whilst 93 countries remain as associate countries.It wasn’t too long that Ireland and Afghanistan joined as members in 2018 and ten years before that Bangladesh joined also. It is promising to see new countries join- but at such a slow rate?

The Netherlands and Cricket?

The Netherlands and Dutch cricket is not the first thing you think of when visualising cricket-Even though the name Cricket” comes from the Dutch word “Kricke” and the “Krickstoel” resembled the stumps we see today behind the batsmen. The dutch cricket board was established in 1883. It is one of the oldest national governing bodies in the sport- it is even older than some of the full members
of the ICC.
Dutch cricket has been enjoyed for many years since an English traveler played on dutch soil in 1780. It didn’t stop their many foreigners played cricket in the Netherlands.

In 1969 The England team stopped by before an ashes match and embarrassingly lost against the home team. Cricket was the most popular sport in the Netherlands in the 19th century until football came. This didn’t get in the way of Dutch cricket. The team plodded along and made a few more upsets. In 2003 the Netherlands made an impressive 320 runs in the Icc world cup and beat Namibia by 64
runs. Jacob Jan Esmeijer was one of the Netherlands ‘ best-left arm spinners. He would not let anyone go for more than 5 runs an over.

Jan was one of the names in the hall of fame of Dutch cricket. Anton Bakker played in the 1969 match against England and was considered the best captain in Dutch cricket. Steven lubbers also is a
great. Even though he didn’t do much in the first few competitions, he found his confidence and got 12 wickets in 1986 and made 3 half centuries. He stayed put and guided his country through matches and tournaments. He retired on a high note, in 1996 and now sadly a gymnastic teacher.

A talent wasted, 6000 cricketers in the Netherlands are yearning to bring it back. There needs to be a push for this sport in this country. Captain Paul Borren retired at 34 leading the orange team for nine years. He contributed over 1000 runs with the bat and 46 wickets. Paul led the team to another historic victory, against England in 2009, winning by 4 wickets. The left-arm spinner Peter
Seelar succeeds him. He is determined to push the team to new boundaries but understands he has big boots to fill.

The future could possibly be…Orange?

Things have progressed…In 2017 the Netherlands has regained ODI status after 4 years, which is a huge achievement. Ryan Campbell is the coach of the Orange team and he is confident that his team will continue to make more upsets and surprises. But they need to “Up their game” for the big teams. Last year in Dubai and Abu Dhabi the Netherlands won eight of nine games to qualify and beat
Papua New Guinea, in the final, to win the ICC T20 World cup qualifier trophy.

This sport survived the first world war as the dutch continued to tour England. Cricket has a new formidable force. It is the Royal dutch lions, they are fighting for what they once had. “Kricke”
Ryan Campbell the coach said that Netherlands will not accept that they are just known as the “13th” member in the ICC but a team that never forgets and never gives up.

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All eyes on the Batsman

Cricket is the second most-watched sport in the world with an audience of 2.5 billion. A game of two halves, one half involves using a bat. In some cases the whole team end up batting for hours and hours. A high score is always the plan. A high score could make a better chance of winning the game, so hitting it hard over the boundary is what the audience expects, with every ball. The bat is the only thing that can make that happen.
Each batsman has his own style and brand and the manufacturers boast about their celebrity customers. Chris gayle is a big hitter and his bat gets a good knock. He has his own brand called Spartan, his bat has larger bow depth and longer handle for grip.

Where is the cricket bat made?

The source of the bat comes from the woodlands of England. English willow and Kashmiri willow from Pakistan has been used to make cricket bats for centuries. The wood is shipped to India and Pakistan to be made in many different brands.
A sign of quality is the grain on the bat. It is usually a mix of hardwood and sapwood which is softer. This alternate surface ensures that it packs a punch. Some bats have more grain than others, the more grains the more expensive it is likely to be.  Click here to see a good quality English willow cricket bat

What is the secret to a strong bat?

Even with the quality craftsmanship and best-sourced wood. Batsmen are still signaling after overs, for a replacement bat. Scratches, chips, and cracks can appear and can affect their performance.
So care and attention is needed to make sure the bat is strong enough to last longer. What is the secret?…..
Bat oil.

Many years ago cricketers would soak the bat in oil for a long while to smoothen out any cracks to make supple and last longer, but this is not the right way.
The trick is to use Raw Linseed Oil- just two tablespoons on the face of the bat. Using the fingers instead of cloth to lather the bat. This is enough to keep the bat strong. A cloth would soak more of oil than the bat- making it pointless.
The hardwood needs the oil to prevent and chips and cracks. A second light coat is applied after 24 hours. Followed by a light dab of the cloth to take off the excess.
Kashmir willow is darker as it consists of hardwood whilst the English Willow is very light in colour and thicker in depth. Both need the oil treatment- more so the Kashmir willow because of the hardwood.
Over 50% of bats are returned to manufacturers for repair because the bat has not been sufficiently oiled. Other oils can be used but Linseed oil has been advised because it oxidises and hardens and seals the outer surface of the bat.
Make sure you oil your bat regularly it could save you hundreds. You can buy the oil here….The best oil for your cricket bat

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1) Ashwell Prince Exposing player discrimination

Ashwell Prince has come-up with a series of revelations on 10th July, due to the on-going debate within the South African ranks over Lungi Ngidi. Former left-arm batsman alleged that the black players within the South African team were often blamed for the national team’s loss in the world cups. He quoted,

“Black players drink too much on a flight, it’s all over the media. White player urinates over the balcony of a team hotel, with several onlookers, it’s swept under the carpet”

Ashwell also revealed the team management’s lack of seriousness over the racial abuse on black South African players during the team’s tour of Australia in 2005. He quoted the response of team management when he complained about racial abuse:
“Ah it’s only some people in the crowd, not the majority, let’s get back out there.”
Ashwell says that there are many more examples of this and that he will probably include it in a book one day.

2) The Monkey-gate Incident

The incident occurred in 2008, during the second test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney. Off-spinner from India, Harbhajan Singh was allegedly involved in a racial slur. Andrew Symonds reported the veteran spinner from India had called him ‘Monkey’ on the field.  Harbhajan was charged for a level 3 offense of racial abuse against Symonds. After the test match finished he was banned from 3 test matches.

3) Usman Khwaja on Racism and Discrimination in Cricket Australia

Pakistani-born Australian test opener, Usman Khwaja, revealed the ugly truth of discrimination and racism he had to face while coming through the ranks of the Australian domestic circuit. He said,
“Being racially vilified actually made me stronger in many respects. I even had a couple of kids try to fight me one day heading home from school. For no reason either! They were in my class one second and the school bell rang — the next minute I’m just about to leave the gates of my school and they are having a go at me,”

He remembers being called a ‘curry muncher’ which, he says, was particularly hurtful. But just like the saying “Sticks and stones” this only made him stronger.

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Cricket has come a long way- from it’s 50 over matches with chubby hairy men bowling and batting until the sun goes down.

Things had to change and it began in England in 2003, where cricket was born.

They had to find a way to make the game shorter in length but more exciting. The 20/20 idea encouraged players to be fitter, stronger and smarter with the ball and bat.

This way it would get the crowd on their feet and not sleeping reading a book like in test cricket.

It became a hit and was rolled out throughout the world. This new dynamic twist to the sport attracted younger crowds. With more crowds came more money.

Sponsors would queue up to get a slice of pie. Companies would compete to get their name on advertising boards on the pitch and through televised sponsorship and sponsors for prizes and tournaments

A cricket-mad country like India took advantage of this. The IPL (Indian premier league) started a T20 tournament and it has become the biggest tournament the world has ever seen.

The IPL brand is worth $6.3 billion US dollars, and it contributes $114 million to Indian GDP in 2015 It was a matter of time other countries followed suit: The Big Bash League in Australia, Natwest T20
Caribbean premier league and The BPL Bangladesh Premier League.

The leagues almost compete with each other, flaunting cash on prize money, celebrity endorsements and drafting new players and old legends from all over the world.
In India filmstar, Shahrukh khan owns KKR Kolkata knight riders it is worth 105 million dollars. Whilst in Bangladesh BPL earned $51million just on sponsorship in 2017. In the Natwest, T20 teams are given a $45
million budget for players.

How is t20 cricket played?

As the name suggests each team has 20 overs (120 balls) to make the most runs and bowl batsmen out.
There are 9 batsmen and teams can only use 5 bowlers with a maximum of 4 overs each (24 balls)

Bowlers have to bowl with a straight arm and not overstep the mark- to get a no-ball. They would be facing the batsmen and behind him a wicketkeeper ready to catch a ball that clips the bat or run him out.

Only five fielders to stand in the circle and only two players patrol the outside. If they catch a ball the batsmen are out, that is if they don’t hit the ball over the head for a 6 or let it go for a 4 when it rolls to the boundary line.

After 13-15 overs they have a tea break and then back for an exciting run chase.

Prizes go for the man of the match sometimes best fielder, most sixes, and most wickets.

It is a very exciting 3 to 4 hours of cricket. Players are tested. Every bowl, run, catch makes a massive difference. You hear the crowds roar. Trumpets blowing after every boundary,
Cheerleaders dancing.

We have to thank the ECB (English cricket board) for concocting the idea and revolutionizing the sport. Cricket is not just “the gentlemen’s game” it is a beautiful game played and watched by all.

More recently with the Coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to cricket tournaments and matches around the world. This is because of the worldwide social distancing law that disallows any large gathering
Pakistan Super League was due to start this year. It would of been 4 years this year that they have played on their home soil. The IPL has also been canceled. It has caused drama in the camps over pay and contracts

We hope that this virus fizzles out soon and that we can all enjoy once the beautiful game.

The post What is T20 Cricket?  And how has it revolutionised the beautiful game. appeared first on Cricket's Finest.