MCC Laws Sub Committee has recently approved the 4th Edition of the Laws of Cricket.

A document explaining all the changes and the reasons why is available for download from here.

New law books will be available through ECB’s licensed merchandise supplier, Duncan Fearnley Cricket Sales Limited, from August 2010 on their dedicated ACO website www.ecbacoshop.co.uk.

ECB ACO has also produced a best practice guide. The purpose is to help guide new officials manage a game of cricket.  A copy of the card will be sent out in the next newsletter but a version can be found here.

The latest edition of the ACO newsletter is now online. Click here to download and read about the latest developments for Officials in England and Wales.

If you have any queries or require further information on the ECB Association of Cricket Officials, please do not hesitate to contact Heidi Coleman at Kent Cricket Board.

Do you know of anyone, perhaps a parent or a volunteer or an ex-player at your club who might be interested in learning the basics of Umpiring a cricket match?  Well, if you do, here’s an opportunity not to be missed!

There’s a FREE ECB “Introduction to Umpiring” course being held on Wednesday 21st July 7:00pm to 9.30pm at Cherries Suite, Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne.

The course will last about 2-2.5 hours and is a basic introduction to scoring.  Thanks to the fantastic uptake for Scorers course on 16th June we have now arranged a FREE Introduction to Umpiring.

At the Umpire’s course a Kent Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials certificate of attendance will be issued but sadly no qualification.  If anyone does want to become a qualified Umpire they will need to complete the ACO Level 1 course.  And the aim with this FREE course is to appeal to those interested in completing the Level 1 courses next winter ready for summer 2011.

If you know someone who might be interested please contact James Thatcher at

3 Barler Place
Queenborough
Isle of Sheppey
Kent
ME11 5BX
Home: (01795) 580622
Mobile: 07786312654
Fax: (01795) 417477
Email: jamesthatcher@swale.gov.uk



Rudi Koertzen, the South African umpire, has announced his retirement from officiating in international cricket: his last Test will be the Pakistan-Australia fixture at Headingley from July 21 to 25.

The ICC have added Marais Erasmus, from South Africa, and Rodney Tucker, from Australia, to the Elite Panel of Umpires for 2010-11 to replace Koertzen and Mark Benson, who stepped down from the panel in February.

Koertzen, 61, has officiated in 106 Tests, a record 209 ODIs and 14 Twenty20 internationals. His first international match was the ODI between between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth on December 9, 1992 and he made his Test debut at the same venue three weeks later.

Of interest to all local Umpires will be the news that one of the new members of the elitle panel, Rodney Tucker, from New South Wales.  He has risen through the ranks to become the first umpire to progress from Cricket Australia’s Project Panel to the highest level.

The umpires in the Elite Panel for 2010-11 are Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Asoka de Silva, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel, Rodney Tucker.

The ECB ACO have announced details of their seven tutors who are to oversee the Young Umpires Courses which are aimed at those aged between 16-25 years old.

They are Alasdair Shaikh from Sussex, Chris Fortune from Bristol, Graham Pickering from Leicestershire, Andrew Dowsett from High Halstow in Kent, Kevin Ling and Todd Holland from Essex and Michael Wood from Durham.

You’ll find all the details about these ambitious young umpires on the ECB’s website.

The remuneration and responsibilities for the appointments of umpires for the new season have been confirmed.

We are sure that this item will be of interest to all Clubs in Kent even if they play in Leagues and competitions that are not part of those detailed in the attached document.  If your Club uses Umpires from a local panel for your matches it might help as a guide to what payments might be.

Please note that the appointments to these matches is made according to the reference in the final right hand column with RAC referring to the Regional Appointment Coordinators.

The appointment of umpires for the first three rounds of the National KO are to be made by the county ACO as was the case in 2009.

Expense forms for the competitions where ECB remunerate centrally will be available on the ECB ACO website to download before the start of the season.

These forms should be sent to the appropriate person after the completion of the match for settlement.

From the very early stages of the formation of the ECB Association of Cricket Umpires (ACO) there has been a commitment from county boards to establish a pathway for officials.

This is firstly so skills can be recognised and secondly for officials to understand where they are and what are the next steps that need to be taken to develop to higher level matches.

It is of course not the desire of all umpires to crave the heights of officiating beyond their local area but nevertheless it is important that there are choices for everyone and a knowledge of where we all are and its acceptance it is a comfortable place to be.

The attached file really does help explain and it is recommended reading for all Umpires at whatever level to download and read it.

The 14th edition of the official newsletter of the ICC European Officials Association ‘Signals’ is now available for download.

Well worth a read for all qualified and would-be Umpires.  Highly recommended.

Officials are required for all levels of Cricket, from local youth matches right up to internationals.

The Kent Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials are willing to train anyone wishing to become an Umpire or Scorer.

If you require further information, or would like us to arrange a training course, please contact us or visit the Kent Cricket Board website.

If you’re interested at all and for contact information follow this link and download the flyer.

ECB are aware that a number of Officials planning to operate in ECB accredited Premier Leagues and other senior cricket leagues in 2009 are not yet members of ECB ACO.

This is due to the membership category of another organisation ceasing with immediate effect.

Paul Bedford, ECB’s Head of Operations (non first class cricket), said: “By appointing Officials that are members of ECB ACO, Leagues and County Boards can ensure that their Officials have cover for insurance purposes and are CRB checked.

Please ensure that anyone officiating in matches under the auspices of ECB is a member of ECB ACO.”

To see the benefits of being an ACO member, please visit the ECB Association of Cricket Officials section of the ECB website.