Thailand’s umpires meet KT Francis

With the ACC Under-19 Challenge Cup successfully completed the day before, some of Thailand’s leading umpires were given the opportunity to meet with and learn from legendary Sri Lankan umpire KT Francis who gave up his time to share his experiences and knowledge and it made for a fascinating Saturday afternoon.

KT, who was Sri Lanka’s first Test umpire in 1982 and later a member of the first ICC umpiring panel, had been in Chiang Mai for two weeks in his official capacity as a member of ACC’s resource staff with the task of looking after and reporting on the umpires standing in the tournament.

These umpires came from countries such as Malaysia, Nepal and China, as well as Surinder Pal from Thailand, and the tournament proved a steep learning curve for the officials as KT watched keenly from the sidelines and held regular meetings so the master could share his vast experience with his pupils. A veteran of 25 Tests and 56 One-Day Internationals during 17 years in international cricket, as well as a lengthy career in first-class cricket both as an umpire and as a match referee, KT was more than happy to spend his last afternoon in Chiang Mai sharing his knowledge with local umpires as well as those who had traveled from Bangkok and Phuket.

KT first reflected on his experiences from watching the recent under-19 tournament as Bahrain defeated Thailand in the final, a match of such status that he readily agreed to take on the duties of match referee. He explained the changes in the newly updated ICC playing conditions in regard to such things as the beamer, nominated reserves and players suffering from cramps. These playing conditions, which operate alongside the laws, are not only in force in international cricket but also in club matches in Thailand and every other country, so he was very firm on one point: that every umpire can make mistakes on the field but they cannot misinterpret or wrongly enforce the Laws of Cricket. He stressed the need for co-operation between the two umpires so that they could work as a team on the field together, and tested the Thai umpires’ knowledge with various interesting scenarios such as whether the batsman should be considered a right or left-hander when playing the reverse sweep.

KT, 70 years old and with a wealth of stories, always made this a lively and entertaining afternoon, as he recalled many of his most memorable moments in Test cricket: when an Indian crowd rioted in Calcutta when Sachin Tendulkar was given run out, and when he stood in a Test in Colombo in which he ended a world record partnership when he gave out Roshan Mahanama. Answering many questions posed by his audience of fellow umpires, he impressed everyone with his wide knowledge and host of memories, and he finished by stressing the importance of enforcing discipline on the field and ensuring the Spirit of Cricket is maintained.

But above all, the Thai umpires will have been inspired by his lifelong quest as an umpire to make the correct decision. If they can all follow his lead, it will be to the great benefit of cricket in Thailand.