SCORER'S TRAINING - WINTER 2008/2009

GACU&S will be running an introductory three week scorers course during the winter, aimed at club scorers who have never received any formal scorer training, as well as those interested in scoring but who haven’t yet taken the plunge!

This is an excellent opportunity to learn from more experienced scorers within the organisation. The course is designed to provide you with a solid foundation from which you can, if interested, go on and develop your skills further.

GACU&S would also like to offer 2 workshops for existing scorers to try their hands at other scoring techniques. One workshop will cover linear scoring, I.e. still paper and pen but on a linear style layout (as used by media scorers such as Bill Frindall) rather than the conventional box style page. The other workshop will cover computer scoring using the Total Cricket Scorer software. A 5 match trial version of this software will be supplied on the day free-of-charge.

The workshops will only be run if there is sufficient demand for them. When expressing an interest in attending a workshop, please indicate whether you would a winter's Saturday afternoon or a weekday evening and if interested in the computer workshop, whether or not you are able to bring your own laptop.

If you are interested in either the basic scorer’s course or the workshops please contact the GACU&S training administrator Simon Todd at trainingadmin@glosumps.org.uk or on 07894 224264.

COMPUTER SCORING - by Sue Drinkwater

I have always considered the scorebook to be a fundamental part of any cricket club and that a neat presentation style is almost as important as numerical accuracy. I love to look back at old scorebooks in beautiful handwriting and hope that someday, someone may do the same with mine. For this reason, I have always considered computer scoring to be cheating and have kept well away from it. I thought that computer scoring required little skill from the scorer; You just clicked on a button or two an let the software do all the work, which of course is true, just as long as you get the right button. Having scored in some representative matches with colleagues using computer systems, I soon realised that they needed just as much knowledge and skill as I did, to identify what had happened on the field of play and to know how to record it. The only difference was that they clicked or typed and I wrote it down. However, as soon as a milestone passed or a wicket fell, the computer told them exactly how many minutes, runs or balls were involved, while I was still frantically counting (not easy in a multi-day game where innings can span many sessions).
So this year in my representative games, when I had the shelter of a scorebox and the luxury of electricity, I too set up with a laptop, a printer and some scoring software. I let Total Cricket Scorer do all the calculations and I enjoyed my scoring all the more, for not having to worry about this side of things. I still had to check with my colleague, to make sure that I had recorded things accurately and interpreted the game correctly, but I no longer had to worry about mathematical errors or wonder if I had missed an entry from one section of the scorebook. Providing bowling figures during intervals became a doddle. A couple of mouse clicks instantly gave me multiple sheets of statistics and allowed me time for my own refreshment.	Samples of the output from TCS from England U19 v New Zealand U19 at Canterbury in August 2008.
Of course, I still completed a paper record. Never completely trust a machine. If no “official” scorebook was provided, then I used my own linear sheets and entered enough details to provide a back up. The scoring package that I chose was Total Cricket Scorer (recommended by many other scorers on the circuit), which provides output in many different formats. It can even print out a conventional box type scoresheet, with all the dots, symbols and colours against the batsmen and bowlers. To teach myself how to use the software, I had taken some scoresheets from existing games and input them into TCS ball-by-ball at a slower pace than in a live game. This provided invaluable practise and I would recommend this exercise to anyone wishing to learn. I haven’t changed my opinion of a beautifully written scorebook, just accepted and acknowledged that times have changed. I still rely solely on pen and paper when sitting outdoors in the Cotswolds, so I haven’t totally lost my numerical skills yet. If you want to try your hand at this new technology, come along to one of my workshops (see details above). You are never to old to try something new.

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HOW TO SCORE

I'm not going to attempt to do this in one paragraph of a website. However, for anyone completely new to scoring, please click on Scoring Guide , where you will find a two page PDF document telling you the basics of how to score. It takes you through the minimum amount of data to be recorded and identifies the symbols that you should be using for most standard events. Please feel free to print this document as many times as required and to circulate it to as many would-be scorers as you can find.

NOTCHER'S NEWSLETTER

Following the breakup of the ACU&S, many scorers now feel that they have no form of communication with other scorers across the country and already miss the scoring articles and news included in the old Hows' That magazine. Ex-ACU&S scorers board chariman (Cathy Rawson) has kindly agreed to edit and publish an independant newsletter (see links below) designed purely for scorers, from club to international level.

Please feel free to give copies of or links to this newsletter to as many other scorers as you can, to spread the word far and wide.

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SCORING STATIONERY

MILLENNIUM SCORING RECORD - box style scoresheets

The A3 scoring record originally designed by members of the ACU&S Scorers’ Board

Binder and 50 sheets (= 100 innings) £20 + P&P

Refill pack of 50 sheets £10 + P&P

For further details email milsteadmsr@btinternet.com

FRINDALL SHEETS - linear style scoresheets

One form of linear scoring, designed, used and retailed by Test Match Special scorer Bill Frindall

Looseleaf sheets, binders and instructions are available from Bill Frindall

STAEDTLER COLOURED PENS - fine line coloured scoring pens

Staedtler 0.3mm coloured pens recommended by scorers from all across the country

Available from (amongst other places) Acumen Books

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