A Hat-Trick For Thai Cricket

There are always great celebrations when a bowler takes a hat-trick on the field, but the Cricket Association of Thailand is rightly celebrating a hat-trick off the field, as they have successfully hosted a trio of courses for coaches, educators and umpires, as well as staging the ACC Trophy Challenge in what has been a busy month for all involved in cricket in Thailand.

First, an ACC level 2 coaching course was held in Chiang Mai, with coaches from across Asia learning new techniques and exchanging ideas; then attention turned to Bangkok with the staging of an ACC level 2 umpire educators course.

Here qualified umpires from no fewer than 14 countries, some of whom had already stood in international and first-class cricket, learnt how to pass on their knowledge to less experienced umpires. This was a particularly challenging course as participants came to terms with new thinking in education, rather than discussing the laws of cricket.

Last but not least, umpires from across Thailand were given the opportunity to take an ACC level 1 umpiring course, following their participation in CAT courses held in Chiang Mai and Phuket earlier in the year.

The umpiring course, also held in Bangkok, allowed Thailand’s umpires to meet Mahboob Shah from Pakistan who stood in the 1987 World Cup final as well as many Test matches and Bomi Jumala from India who is now responsible for coaching and assessing umpires for the BCCI.

The two senior umpires who are now ACC resource persons held a four-day course packed with information on the laws of cricket as well as discussions on the duties of umpires even before they stand on the field.

There were two visits to Polo Club to learn how to stand in the middle and for a practical assessment when many difficult situations were contrived to test out the umpires, and the final part of the course was an exam which most will pass with flying colours, such is the enthusiasm of Thailand’s umpires to improve their skills.

More than just attending a course, it was a chance for Thailand’s officials from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen to get to know each other and to compare notes on cricket in their regions.

It was also a chance for less experienced and younger umpires, including four members of the Thailand women’s team, to learn more about the laws which will help them whether playing on the field, coaching, scoring or when they do more umpiring.

Each of the twenty people will have taken something different from their four days in Bangkok, whether it be the newcomers like Mahsid Faheem who played for Thailand in the ACC Trophy Challenge and still has a big future ahead on the field, or the more experienced umpires who are edging closer to full accreditation so they can eventually stand in official ACC and ICC World Cricket League tournaments.

In the short term Thailand’s officials have also benefited from the experience of Bomi Jumala’s long career with the BCCI, as he was able to explain the finer points of the role of the match referee and reserve umpire.

These are positions that several attending the course already fill in tournaments in Thailand, and it is to their great credit that the officials asked Jamula for advice on how to perform better.

It was also plain to see how advanced umpire training has become in some parts of the world. In first-class cricket in India umpires are continuously monitored by the placing of six cameras at every match and that gives Bomi Jamula the opportunity to make use of many video clips in assessing all umpires.

Umpires in Thailand are looking to follow in the footsteps of the best officials in India and the longest lasting memories of the course will be the time spent with Mahboob Shah, one of the great statesmen of world cricket, and with Bomi Jamula who is clearly one of the most capable umpire assessors in Asia, as well as an international umpire in his own right.

The course will have proved its point when more of Thailand’s senior umpires are able to stand in ACC and World Cricket League tournaments, but it has also provided great value in adding to the interest in cricket in several younger participants.