Cheltenham Borough Council have, at long last, agreed to rebuild the Cricket Hall at the Recreation Centre to it original specification. It is intended that the work will start in the Spring and continue through the Summer to an anticipated completion date in August next year.This is good news for all cricketers in Gloucestershire and means that the popular Indoor Sixes competition can resume at the end of September.
Gloucestershire County Board (GCB) established a Coaches Association on 17/10/08 and felt the time was right to establish a positive and operational GACO. Consequently a GACO meeting was called for the 23rd October 2008 at Thornbury Cricket Club and GCB expressed the hope that members would wish to see their interests properly represented within the ECB/GCB framework.
The following items are the main points that arose at that meeting:-
At this point the meeting was opened to those attending with the aim of moving GACO forward. After a round of general discussion the following points were proposed:-
The end of season review meeting was held on October 22nd 2008 at the Victory Club, Cheltenham. Over thirty members were present when discussion ranged over a variety of topics. There were less reported incidents last season and members felt that behaviour was generally better, although this was not the case in other regions. Maybe GACU&S had better control !! The Code of Conduct that we hoped would be adopted for next season, seems likely to be put back as GCB wrestles with the setting up of GACO and finding a replacement for Mike Bailey.
The IICUS winter training course is under subscribed and urgently needs more candidates. The Scorers course and workshops planned for the New Year seem to be eagerly anticipated and details are being worked out. The MCC Law Book has been reprinted but there is no need to buy a copy, as the only major change is Law 6-The Bat- but all this will be become clear at the pre-season seminar in the spring.
The monthly appointment system was generally successful but concerns were raised for next season when the Premier League Panel is formed. Alongside the published commitments, panel umpires must be ‘on-line’ as communications will only be passed electronically. Public Schools had umpiring problems last season and it is thought that we may be asked to provide some umpires for their matches next season, making our spread even thinner.
Members were generally happy with our lines of communication, as no criticisms or fresh ideas were put forward. Our kit sponsor still has a few problems but hopefully these will be sorted out in time for the new season and a presentation at the AGM is planned.
Unfortunately, we have to report that our association photographer, Jack Sherratt is in poor health. He recently suffered a heart attack as a result of a brain tumour. Jack is currently not allowed to drive his car and so is confined to home for most of the time. Jack would welcome a phone call or any kind of contact from any of his cricketing friends. The website is certainly missing Jack's photographic input.
We are sorry to have to report that Nigel Plews, one of the greatest of cricket umpires, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, 19th October. Not only was he a foremost authority on the Laws of Cricket and their application, but he was willing to spend time and effort to answer questions from any source and to ensure that he covered all aspects and gave the full picture. Such rare talent and willingness to share his knowledge will be sorely missed. Those of us who have learned from his advice will count ourselves lucky.
His passing is a sad loss for cricket, but the sadness is tempered by the knowledge that umpiring is better for his having been involved.
We recently reported that ex-umpire Harry Revill was in poor health and in the Delancey Hospital in Cheltenham. We are pleased to inform you that Harry is now back at home, although his health is still not good. The GACU&S committee have sent their best wishes with a card, but a visit from old friends is always appreciated.
At WEPL's board meeting on Tuesday 9th June, our WEPL representative raised the issue of Umpires’ Fees (in the light of increased fuel costs) and proposed an increase which was unanimously agreed upon.
Starting from Sat 5 July the fees are :
90 overs - £22.50
100 overs - £27.50
110 overs - £32.50
The Clubs will be informed.
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The Cliff Mitchell umpiring award and Derek Hibbs scoring awards for 2007 were awarded to husband and wife team, Stan and Eileen Phelps. Stan has recently retired from league umpiring, after officiating in Gloucestershire for over thirty years, going right back to the old Three Counties League days. His main club was Winget where his wife Eileen was the scorer. When the club merged with Gloucester City and the demand for neutral officials took first call on him, he managed to keep club contact going. Eileen is still currently the much appreciated 1st XI scorer for Gloucester City Winget. |
The following new committee members were voted into office at the 2008 GACU&S on March 19th:-
See the Officials page for contact details and photographs.
In October 2007 General Council agreed to ballot members on a proposal to set up the ECB Association of Cricket Officials (ACO) to bring together the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers, and the ECB Officials Association.
The result of the ballot is that 2,541 votes were cast in favour of the proposal, and 854 votes against. Accordingly the necessary majority has been secured and the proposal has been adopted. Another 151 ballot papers were received, either after the closing date or with insufficient or incorrect details. These papers have not been included in the count, as the scrutineers have confirmed that they would not have affected the result. As a result ACO will now be set up, to commence on 1st January 2008, and ACU&S will cease activities, save for the winding up of the affairs of the Association.
A Special General Meeting will be convened to approve the winding up of ACU&S and the disposal of the Association’s assets, including any balance in the Association’s accounts. A SGM will be convened for 15th March, the date provisionally fixed for the AGM. If that time scale cannot be met, then the AGM will be arranged for a later date, to be held at the same time as the SGM. Members will receive notice of these meetings.
Members are advised that the Administration Office is now closed. All correspondence, except for that of a financial nature should be forwarded to the General Secretary at 5, Camp Square, Thorner, Leeds LS14 3BX. Correspondence of a financial nature should be sent to the Treasurer at 77 Moatbrook Avenue, Codsall, Wolverhampton, WV8 1DJ.
Note: The above is an extract from the official announcement.
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On the 30th September 2007, 4 members of GACU&S were invited to umpire the semi finals and final of the North Gear Premier League 2020 competition. The games were all played at the Kent County ground at Canterbury. The 4 umpires pictured left to right were Ian Anderson, Colin Dunford, Jon Davies and Doug Oakey. The 5th umpire to officiate was young Chris Fortune of Bristol ACU&S. The 4 GACU&S umpires and their wives/partners travelled down on the Saturday and were accommodated at the Holiday Inn in Ashford as all 4 had to be at the ground at 07.30!. The wives and partners arrived much later!! The reason for the early start was that all the matches were being shown live on Sky and we had to be briefed on the 3rd umpires duties and communications with the program producer/commentators. An excellent days cricket and weather were enjoyed by players, umpires and spectators alike with the team representing the Hampshire Premier league winning the competition. During the final an incident occurred which had never been seen before on television when a batsman was given out 'obstructed the field' by Doug Oakey.(The last recorded 1st class dismissal for this offence was in 1963). | |
| During the day the umpires and their partners were entertained in the Kent CCC committee room lounge/balcony where drinks were readily available all day and a beautiful lunch served. The partners, pictured, all seemed to enjoy the experience greatly, as did the 4 umpires. The most pleasing aspect of the day were the comments from the Sky team, including Paul Nixon, Dave Houghton, Charles Coleville and the production team who said that the umpires were the best they had seen all season, a real feather in the cap for all members of GACU&S. |
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Umpires are reminded that should a reportable incident occur during a match the incident should be reported using the standard GACU&S report which can be downloaded from the website, signed by both umpires and sent to the Secretary Jeff Chandra who will act on their behalf with the Match Governing Body and the involved Clubs.
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Click on the Not Out logo to view the 104th issue - October 2008. This document is in pdf format, viewed with Acrobat Reader. Visit the Adobe Website to download it (free of charge) |
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Not Out Editor Jim Downes |
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Click on the Cliff Mitchell photo to view the Umpires Award Voting Form. |  |
Click on the Derek Hibbs photo to view the Scorers Award Voting Form. Back to Top |