On the home straight!
The Christmas break has come and gone in a blink of an eye. The Ashes were won, and the January holidays were full of carnivals. Now it's time to focus on polishing off the end of the season.
JANUARY COMMUNITY UMPIRES OF THE MONTH
Cricket Australia would like to congratulate Ivan, Daksh and Maureen who are the January Umpires of the Month.
Ivan (NSW), Male Umpire of the Month, recently celebrated a monumentous achievement umpiring 400 Sydney Shires matches. This milestone is not one that comes along everyday and requires a great level of dedication and commitment. Daksh (NSW) is the Multicultural Umpire of the Month, and Maureen (WA) the Emerging Umpire of the Month. Read more or Nominate
TEST MATCH EXPERIENCE
For the second summer in-a-row, umpires were being recognised around the country at every Test match during the Ashes.
The 2024/25 summer saw the two Tests at the MCG and the match in Perth provide an opportunity for umpires to experience walking on the hallowed turf. This summer, the two two-day Tests in Perth and Melbourne prevented this opportunity, but it meant that the states who missed out last summer, finally had their chance in the sun (or under the stars for those in Brisbane).
"It was a great day out, with some exceptional cricket, beautiful weather and a fantastic atmosphere created by The Barmy Army who were located in the bays all around us. I attended the match with my father and the opportunity afforded to us to walk around the boundary at the tea break is one we will remember for a very long time." Rodney Porter
COMMUNITY UMPIRE AMBASSADOR
After a successful pilot of the Community Umpiring Ambassador program over the 2024/25 summer, another 4 Associations have been connected with one of Australia's elite umpires this season.
The 'Community Umpiring Ambassador' program aims to connect an umpire from the Cricket Australia Contracted Umpires Panel (CACUP) with a community umpire association to engage with the local umpire members. This summer, Nepean District Cricket Association were connected with Gerard Abood, who has a personal connection to the NDCA Treasurer, Peter Filmer.
Gerard has so far attended two monthly meetings and spent time answering questions and talking about the world of umpiring. Having someone of Gerard's caliber is certainly rubbing off on the NDCA umpiring cohort. So much so, Gerard was presented with one of their shirts, which he plans to adorn on field during the season.
SHEFFIELD SHIELD RECORD
Cricket Australia proudly congratulates umpire Gerard Abood, who broke Peter Parker’s long-standing umpiring record in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Abood stood in his 84th Sheffield Shield match, surpassing Parker’s record for the most Shield matches officiated in history officiating with New South Wales umpiring colleague Ben Treloar and match referee Bob Parry (Victoria).
Abood’s journey in the Sheffield Shield began at the SCG in November 2008, when he officiated his very first match between New South Wales and Queensland—the same two sides as this round. That match featured future Australian stars Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith, with on-field colleague and highly respected umpire Simon Taufel. Read more
CACUP ACHIEVEMENTS
Cricket hasn't slowed down in the elite and representative competitions, which means umpires have continued to perform and excel.
Webber WBBL Final: Claire Polosak & Drew Crozier, Sharad Patel (3rd), Daryl Brigham (4th)
KFC BBL Final: Sam Nogajski & Donovan Koch, Phil Gillespie (3rd), Gerard Abood (4th)
Underage National Championship Finals:
U19 Male: Peter George (SA) & Patrick Jackson (NSW)
U19 Female: Melissa Scolyer (Tas) & Kate Rowlands (NSW)
U17 Male: Ahmad Khan & Peter Merrilees (WA)
U16 Female: Leone Mizzi (NSW) & Brayden Seabourne (Tas)
Century Up for Graham-Smith
Cricket Australia's Mike Graham Smith stood in his 100th KFC Big Bash League (BBL) match when the Sydney Sixers defeated the Brisbane Heat in Coffs Harbour, becoming just the 3rd umpire to reach the milestone. Read more
COMMUNITY UMPIRING TECHNIQUE GUIDELINES
Want to access a quick refresher for this weekend's appointment? Download the 'Community Umpiring Technique Guidelines' or watch the mini-videos here.
STATE & TERRITORY NEWS
TASMANIA |
Cricket Tasmania’s Female Umpire Education Day was led by ICC Emerging Umpire, Claire Polosak – the first woman to officiate a men’s ODI! Umpires were put through their paces in law knowledge in basic field craft during a net session. If you want to take the plunge and get into umpiring in Tasmania, contact Darren Close dclose@crickettas.com.au |
CRICKET AUSTRALIA |
50 First Class Matches: Phil Gillespie (Vic) - Shield, NSW vs SA, Feb 5-8 First Class Debutants: Riki Wessels (Qld) - Shield, NSW vs Tas, Nov 22-25 Chris Grant (Vic) - Shield, NSW vs SA, Feb 5-8 BBL Debutants: Daryl Brigham (Vic) - Heat vs Scorchers, Dec 19 Chris Grant (Vic) - Dec 29 Mitchell Claydon (NSW) - Thunder vs Hurricanes, Jan 3 Riki Wessels (Qld) - Strikers v Thunder, Jan 6 |
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