Umpires!  Now there is a word that is guaranteed to spark debate and make the pulse beat quicker amongst the cricketing fraternity.   In some people’s opinions seldom right, usually half blind, in need of a hearing aid, prone to calling games off when the ground is perfectly playable, these guys really are a special breed.

The bowlers view is if the ball hits the pad you are out and the batsman’s perspective is that he is never out.  So the role of the umpire is to look at things impartially and apply the Laws of the game.  It is worth remembering that umpires also have a sense of humour; why else would they have an annual match where they compete for the White Stick trophy?

No matter what your opinion on the matter there is one key fact to remember, the game cannot go ahead without them.  Throughout the course of the season I have spoken to many and hopefully developed a better understanding of the men in the middle.

Current Chairman of the Northern Ireland Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers is Alan Neill.  Many will remember Alan as a gifted player who played the game with distinction at the highest level for many years.  He is now having a similar level of success as an umpire, so who better to talk to:

“I will be in office for two years and one of the key things for me is to raise the profile of the Association.  As an umpire you are in the middle for 6 to 7 hours and you are not many people’s friend.  What I will say is that it is the best place to watch the game.

"I would like more umpires to be former players and therefore would encourage players to get the qualifications so that they can put something back into the game.  To be honest some current players particularly the younger ones, do not know a lot about the Laws of the game.

"For example they may learn about running in the danger area down the pitch, if they know about the Laws and have a better knowledge about them then I think the whole game can only benefit from that.  If a player is injured and has the umpire’s qualifications then they can still be involved in the game by umpiring whilst recovering.”

"One of the problems facing the game is a dwindling number of active umpires.  Alan reckons that to provide the cover required for all games needs a panel of about 60 umpires with about 45 active.  At the minute those numbers are around 45 with 30 active so the teams at the bottom end are suffering.

"So given that an umpire may spend up to 10 hours away from home, including travel to and from a game and that the match fee represents considerably less than the minimum wage would increased remuneration attract more to take it up?

“In an ideal world obviously, but it is not about the remuneration.  There is not the money around here locally; we all know that a lot of clubs are struggling to keep above water financially.  We are losing members retiring due to age and ill health.

"The clubs need to take responsibility, there are not enough people to cover all games and some have to go ahead without the correct cover and this puts pressure on players having to umpire their own teams.

"The NCU has been tremendously supportive and I believe have taken steps in the right direction but if we have less than 40 active members then in holiday times we may struggle to get 20 out which just about provides cover for the Premier League and Section One.”

"In many ways too the Association has been a victim of their own success.  Due to the standard both of local cricket and the umpires standing in it local umpires are recognised as being amongst the best in Europe and as such are called upon to officiate in European tournaments and further afield, putting further pressure on those at home to provide cover, as Alan expanded:

“For someone who wants to get involved in the game there are vast opportunities.  Our two top local umpires Mark Hawthorne and Richard Smith have been out in Australia at the Under 19 World Cup.  As well as that we have umpires on the European Elite panel and just below that at a European Level.”

So no doubting the standard then so what does he believe is the real issue:

“We have a number of clubs who do not have active umpires on the panel and some have not contributed in the last 10 years, which is obviously a problem.  Others e.g. Carrickfergus have guys like Alec Adams and Michael Ross. 

"If every club was contributing two umpires it can only be for the benefit of the local game.  I would appeal to clubs to look internally, the more we have rolling up the sleeves and contributing the better, even if it is only making themselves available for say five matches a season.”

So what about that other thorny issue, player behaviour:

“I have to say that over the last couple of seasons, there has been a noticeable and pleasant rise in standards.  The vast majority of players appreciate what umpires do and know that they are dependent on them for the game to go ahead.

"Cricket generally is seeing a decline in numbers with teams dropping out and in some cases club dropping out and I suppose we are no different.  I would urge more to do the courses, new umpires will always be paired with more experienced guys and I can assure anyone that it is much easier to be a “neutral” umpire rather than having to do it for your own team.

"As an Association we want to help develop the game, as I said the NCU has been extremely supportive, but we need the help of the clubs and players.”

"If you go on one of the courses what’s the worst that can happen?  You increase your knowledge of the Laws and what umpires are looking at, now surely that has to be for the benefit of all.  Who knows you might even discover that you actually enjoy it."