The men in white

Umpire Billy Bowden in the thick of action.-AP

The umpires have to be a walking encyclopaedia, adept at the use of a light meter and a calculator and a diplomat who can handle all the volatile players who stand to earn a fortune or lose their place if an umpire gets his verdict wrong, writes Ted Corbett.

July 14: When I remember, while Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie are labouring for a draw, that it is 19 years since Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh bat through the day against England — the only instance in this country — it sets me thinking just how the old game changes in that time. As Roger Federer makes an unexpected visit to Lord’s — his father is a South African so he may just be interested in his roots — let’s look at some of the ways we find the game altering over the last couple of decades...

July 15: Professional cricketers have a bonanza. County players in this country earn 10 times the amount they did in 1987, they play in front of huge, worldwide television audiences and their equipment includes heavier bats, more comfortable clothing, fewer matches — although they still seem to get tired, or bored or injured. Under the guidance of more coaches, diet experts, fitness gurus and the like they are better trained. Black bats, pink balls and, in England’s case, clothing that is whiter than white instead of the traditional cream; and help from sponsors with leisure clothing, track suits, lap tops, improved dressing rooms and from the medical staff a much greater chance of recovery from injuries that will end a career at one time. Add reverse swing — which is accidental up until 15 years ago when it is seen as suspicious before it gains acceptance — and the reverse sweep, brought to the public notice by Mike Gatting’s dismissal in the 1987 World Cup but given credence by Bob Woolmer and Dermot Reeve, the great innovators with Warwickshire. The batsman finds he is facing more spin, the result of the success of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Few bowl orthodox spin since the establishment of the doosra as a shock weapon which makes the achievements of Monty Panesar all the more remarkable. Batsmen now use even bigger bats, because they go to the gym to build the muscle to use them more effectively. Kevin Pietersen shows you can switch hit to make the 3lb 3oz bat even more deadly. The cricketer also has to cope with several different varieties — from 20 overs to five days — to do without rest days, to arrive in a country and play a Test four days later and to play in back-to-back Tests three or four times a summer. He must understand power plays — even though I hear one former England captain confess he does not read the Laws in the whole of his 15-year career — and complex rules and regulations.

July 16: The present laws, revised nearly 10 years ago, are among the worst written of all time — “in need of a decent sub-editor,” according to one sage. But they include many new signals, restrictions on the number of short-pitched balls, the use of the third umpire to sort out appeals. Two new bits are largely ignored. The Spirit of Cricket which starts off the new laws does not appear to apply to runs outs when the batsman lies on the floor and penalty runs are simply a theory. The decisions at Leeds show that a new look at the Laws is overdue.

July 17: As we learn of the death of Bryan Cowgill, a great advanced thinker in television — introducing everything from Richie Benaud to action replays — it is time to realise how much the game owes to the broadcasters. The improvement in quality is gigantic. More cameras — up to 22 at any game — with bigger lenses, tiny stump cameras capable of producing pictures as good as their bigger brothers, super slo-mo cameras, stump microphones and computers to deal with all the output. Replays are a laborious process 20 years ago; now they come in an instant. Take a final bow, Bryan Cowgill.

July 18: Spectators have to pay a lot more for the privilege of being searched and scanned, prevented from bringing their own drinks and constantly being harangued about the “reasonable request” that they do not go on to the playing area. Truly, it is easier and probably just as exciting, given the hysterics of various television commentators, to watch the game on TV. After all, your purpose so far as authority and the television executive is concerned, is to act as a backdrop to the cricket. My favourite spectator dies recently and today I say a fond farewell at his funeral. Another friend tells his life story, relating how, as a teenage opening batsman, he is out, three Middlesex club matches in a row, for less than 10 runs in aggregate after fewer than a total of 15 minutes at the crease. “He goes on to make a reasonable middle order batsman,” he recalls. But his failures have an excuse. The bowler who gets him out each time is John Price, an unknown, later a fast bowler for Middlesex and England.

July 19: An ICC match referee is at every Test or one-day international and, after a long campaign conducted by Imran Khan and opposed most vigorously by Australia, two neutral umpires stand in Tests and one in one-dayers. The umpires have to be a walking encyclopaedia, adept at the use of a light meter and a calculator and a diplomat who can handle all the volatile players who stand to earn a fortune or lose their place if an umpire gets his verdict wrong. They also have to be fit and most of them are. I come back from supper at close to midnight and meet two umpires who have just been for their second run of the day. Few of them are old players but all the match referees have long international experience. They need it to see justice done as they have the power to hand out warnings, impose fines or ban players.

July 20: Finally, there is the man with the pen in his hand, his scorebook on one side, his mobile on the other, and his open lap top ready to write. He may not be all that welcome since his free press pass brings the game no money and it costs the grounds to feed and water and provide with a scorer. There are more public relations men than you can shake a stick at — sometimes useful, more often a hindrance — but every day he puts the start time of matches in the newspaper he must be responsible for a few more spectators. Nothing much changes since the days the writer is forced to watch from the area round the scorers’ tent. Even in my time we have crouched in a tiny box — at Northampton — at cow corner — Trent Bridge — and from so many parts of the Oval I lose count. No complaints though. It is still the best job in the world.