… Umpires rewarded for commitment and service
WITH the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association (WICUA) celebrating its 50th year of yeoman service to the game of cricket in the region, the Guyana Cricket Umpires Council (GCUC) on Sunday hosted an Inter-faith church service at the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion. Twenty-five umpires who are alive today were honoured with plaques for their commitment and service to the sport and in the deceased category, another five namely Mervyn Bagot, Clyde Duncan, Compton Vyphius, Rudolph Harper and Rudolph Haynes’ relatives collected plaques on their behalf.
Umpires who have given yeoman service to the first-class category of the game, such as Dashroy Balgobin, Daveteerth Anandjith, Colin Alfred, Dhieranidranauth Somwaru and Nigel Duguid were also recognised.
While, Grantley Culbard, Clement Brusch, Heuvel Cunha, Emily Dodson, Joseph Jeffrey, Robin Kendall, Hortence Isaacs, Roshan Moakan, Linden Matthews, Rafeek Latiff and Zabeer Zakier were recognised for their  outstanding and dedicated service to the profession.
David Narine and Edward Nicholls and female umpire Ava Baker were recognised in the Test and Female categories respectively, while Francis Hinckson who is in his 90s, was given a special award.
Delivering the feature address at the ceremony which was also attended to by former Guyana and West Indies all-rounder and present president of the Georgetown Cricket Association, Roger Harper, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony, defined umpires as the gatekeepers/guardians of integrity and fairness in the game.
“Your decision as umpires has a significant impact on the game so you need to strive to be correct at all times,” adding that unfair decisions do not go down well in terms of criticism while alluding  to the challenges umpires face with cricket taking various forms and the use of technology.
“Umpires are under pressure to be accurate at all times. When they make the right decisions no one really recognises them but as soon they slip up, they are in for some tongue-lashing. And with technology so active in the game, it puts them under heavier pressure.
“Also, they have to be versatile to keep up with the various forms cricket is taking, as they are getting shorter and the rules are adjusting,” posited Dr Anthony who also made a few points on the spirit of the game, noting that a set of values and cultures go with cricket.
He reminded the umpires that the way they behave off the field is as important as the way they behave on it, adding that the GCUC does not document the umpires’ achievements and contributions which he sees as a sad situation and called on them to start documenting so that in years to come they will be known and possibly become heroes.
Meanwhile Somwaru, who is the GCUC president, asked Dr Anthony for a subvention while he paid tribute to all the umpires including those who are alive and the ones who have passed on, saying they are not recognised as they should.
In response to Somwaru’s request, Dr Anthony said he cannot give a subvention but can fund one of the umpires’ training workshops and donate trophies or plaques for a category at their annual award ceremony.
He also agreed that the umpires needed more recognition, adding that a start can be to put up their photos at cricket venues, while making reference to the pictures that are decorating the walls of the venue which hosted the ceremony and is known as the club’s Hall of Fame.