jack bannister

Career focus
In those first couple of years I
found I was mentally tired by the
end of July or early August which
are the months at the business end of
the season.
The higher you go as an umpire,
the more scrutiny there is but the
most pressure I feel is what I put on
myself to perform day in and day out.
That hasn’t changed from when I first
started on the reserve list
Obviously, from time to time you will
get a decision wrong, but that is just the
nature of the job. Thankfully over time
my stats since I joined the ICC elite
panel suggest that I have a very high
percentage of correct decisions.
Umpiring in county cricket is
excellent preparation for international
cricket because the volume of cricket
played here means that we get plenty
of experience and practice.
Even though I was relatively
young when I was appointed to the
elite panel in 2011 I had a lot of
experience behind me - well over 100
first-class games, more than 100 List
A games and a big number of T20
games as well.
Getting on the elite panel is an eye
opener and it presents a number of
challenges. You are umpiring at the top
level, the world is watching, the DRS
system is in place and there are 40-odd
television cameras at every match.
But the biggest challenge is being
away from the family for long periods.
I have two children, Millie aged
seven and Jack who is five and I have
probably only been around for half of
their lives.
I’m fortunate that my wife, Lucy, is
very supportive but having to leave the
family for a month or so at a time is
the toughest part of the job.
But I would recommend umpiring
to any player who is thinking about
going into it. As John Hampshire told
me almost 17 years ago, it keeps you
involved in cricket and the financial
rewards have got better since I first
came on to the list.
Quite rightly so because the lads on
the list work damned hard. It’s harder
than people who haven’t umpired
might imagine but, as David Constant
told me when I started out, if are not
mentally tired at the end of a day then
you are not doing the job properly.
ECB Umpires' manager chris kelly
discusses roots players can
follow into an umpiring career.
What it takes
to become
an umpire
During the 2015
domestic cricket season
all 2486 days of cricket
were officiated by a
panel of 25 Full List
and a Reserve List of eight umpires.
The matches range from pre-season
friendlies to Test matches and from
County U15 Finals to One Day
International matches. With a volume
of playing conditions to accompany
them and the observation and
awareness skills akin to a hawk the
demands on them makes it one of
the most challenging officiating roles
in any professional sport. It is not
surprising that sense of achievement
on the completion of a successful
day’s work is the most satisfying
feeling other than playing itself.
All Full List umpires are employed
by ECB on full employment contracts
with a basic salary in the region
of 50K and the benefits associated
with most private sector employees.
With the experience that can be
gained with the volume, intensity and
high standard of cricket available
to them in the summer there exist
opportunities for them to be able
to progress to officiate the major
domestic matches and beyond.
Among the current ranks of the
ECB Full List umpires there are four
members on the ICC Elite Panel of
Umpires - Richard Kettleborough,
Richard Illingworth, Nigel Llong and
Ian Gould and they have all been
supported by our members of the
International Panel - Tim Robinson,
Rob Bailey and Michael Gough.
All of the above named officials
regularly stand in Test matches and
One Day Internationals and Richard
Kettleborough has been voted ICC
Umpire of the Year for the last three
years (2013 - 2015). The progress that
these officials have made over the last
few years illustrates the opportunities
that exist for officials and that further >
thepca.co.uk / BtB issue 18 35