Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2023

But there are times when players sorely test the benevolence of umpires. I recall Australian spin bowler Ray Bright furiously remonstrating with umpire Bill Alley when he declined to give an LBW decision. He angrily snatched his cap back from a startled Alley. A chorus of boos rang around the ground as captain Greg Chappell was instructed to speak with Bright. The sight was almost comical as Chappell stood in front of the bowler with hands carefully placed on his shoulders. A red faced Bright stared at his feet as the error of his ways was explained. Chappell looked like a despairing parent explaining the facts of life to a naive young son. Ricky Ponting is a frequent reference point when different aspects of the game are discussed. And bless his cotton socks he hasn’t let me down with a rather nice anecdote about umpires. It was the second day of the 4th Test at Melbourne during the 2010/11 Ashes. Australia were on their way to a 3-1 series defeat; England meanwhile would win the 4th test by a gorgeous innings and 157 runs. Ponting was on the threshold of a third Ashes defeat as captain and would not have been in the best frame of mind. He appealed for a caught behind against England batsman Kevin Pietersen. However, the appeal was rejected by the on-field umpire. Ponting opted for a referral which was subsequently denied by the third umpire. The joys of DRS should have settled the matter there and then. But he became embroiled in an argument and even spoke to Pietersen about the incident. Ponting hadn’t reckoned with the redoubtable Aleem Dar who placed him firmly back in his box. Dar is now the doyen of umpires having stood in a record 139 Tests. He has been voted ICC Umpire of the year on three occasions and broke the five year unbroken run of Simon Taufel. Like many test umpires he had a modest playing career; seventeen first class games in Pakistan club cricket was the extent of his achievements as a player. There are some exceptions as Richard Illingworth who still stands and Peter Willey, now retired, both enjoyed solid careers as Test umpires. But there remains an element of human nature at work here. Those with unfulfilling playing careers might try harder to prove themselves in other aspects of the game. The requirement for two on field umpires throws up some memorable partnerships. Probably the greatest umpiring double act was Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird and David Shepherd. Both batsmen, they enjoyed contrasting fortunes as players. Bird was a capable opening batsman with Yorkshire and Leicestershire but a mixture of poor confidence, indifferent form and a knee injury curtailed his career. Shepherd was an able middle order batsman with Gloucestershire and scored over 10,000 runs in a 14 year career. They stood together in a record 31 test matches and were the yin and yang of Test umpires. They both had an avuncular presence on the field of play. ‘Shep’ was cheerfully rotund and could easily have been John Bull but for a Union Jack waistcoat. There were many appealing eccentricities 11 Aussie spinner Ray Bright lost his cool when his lbw appeal was turned down cont’d on pg13