Young umpires take centre stage

Two Shropshire youngsters are taking their exciting first steps on their umpiring journey thanks to a new initiative between Cricket Shropshire and the county’s Association of Cricket Officials.

Sanisa Golar and Olivia Ashely took to the field as standing umpires in a county Age Group game between Shropshire Girls Under 13s and their Worcestershire counterparts at Willey CC last week.

Both first became involved in the officiating pathway during the Winter when they completed their Introduction to Umpiring Course in Shropshire.

Since then, they have been supported by Shropshire Association of Cricket Officials’ (SACO) Youth Development Officer Nathan Bartram who has been mentoring them on their umpiring journey.

It has seen them gain invaluable experience through festival cricket, junior matches and their first County Age Group game.

It has also seen them invited to Hundred games at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston in the past month to see first-hand the officials in action at the games.

Olivia also umpired her first Shropshire County Cricket League game at the weekend – taking charge of Whitchurch 3s v Chelmarsh2s in Sunday Division Two match – and was praised by both sides for her dedication to all things cricket.

She also plays for Whitchurch’s Wickettes side, has become and ECB Support Coach and completed her Scorers Course in recent weeks.

Nathan said: “What’s really refreshing is how eager young people are to learn. Olivia and Sanisa have been brilliant taking everything on board and showing real talent. 

“But just as importantly, by standing out in the middle, they’re showing the players that umpiring isn’t just a role for ex-male players. They’re making it visible and achievable for anyone who wants to get involved. 

“The message they’re sending is powerful: that could be me.”

The vision now is to continue developing opportunities for new officials. 

Plans are already in hand for targeted training courses over the winter including female-only courses and ones aimed for ethnic minorities to help broaden access and keep new umpires engaged all year-round.

Nathan added: “Our goal is to build a young officials’ development group so that, by next season, we’ve got even more new and younger umpires standing in county and junior games. 

“If we can keep that momentum going, the future of umpiring in Shropshire looks really exciting.”

Cricket Shropshire Lead Officer Steve Reese said: “It was fantastic to see Sanisa and Olivia take charge of our County Age Group game last week.

“It not only highlighted the talent of two promising young umpires, but also underlined Cricket Shropshire’s commitment to making cricket more inclusive and ensuring that everyone whatever their age, gender, or background can see a pathway into the game.”

To find out more about how to start your umpiring journey, look out for details of forthcoming courses to be held in Shropshire in the upcoming months via the Board’s website HERE.

Alternatively check out the Shropshire Association of Cricket Officials website HERE or the ECB website HERE.

Online ECB Umpiring course available

Calling all clubs in Shropshire: do you have someone who wants to become a qualified Umpire – whether for league fixtures, junior games or Women & Girls cricket?

Chloe and Holly on international duty

Two Shropshire scorers have been recognised for their achievements after taking on duties at international fixtures during the 2024 season.

The presentation to Chloe Walmsley and Holly Eccleston took place at the Shropshire Association of Cricket Officials’ (SACO) annual meeting recently at Allscott Heath CC.

Holly, from Whitchurch CC, was the official scorer for England Women in their game against New Zealand at New Road, Worcester, last June.

Chloe was scorer for the England U19s game against the West Indies at Loughborough as part of the School Games at the end of August.

She is also lined up to score at Lord’s next month as part of the officials team for the national Girls Schools Indoor Finals.

Holly has scored at a number of international fixtures in recent years, while Chloe is stepping up her scoring journey after getting involved at Madeley CC.

Chole said: “I got into scoring through my younger sister who took it on as a hobby and scored in the Birmingham League. 

“Learning first-hand from her inspired me to get involved myself. I play for Madeley Ladies team having scored for them when I was on maternity leave. 

“I’ve scored for a variety of the Shropshire County Age Group teams – U14 boys, U18 girls, Ladies and the Academy side – and I have also scored for the Shropshire Over 50s side. 

“I would encourage anyone who has even a little bit of interest in scoring to give it a go! In my opinion, it’s the best place to watch a game of cricket.”

The SACO annual meeting was well-supported with 53 umpires and scorers in attendance. A curry was enjoyed by all as well as a run through of the 2025 new rules and regulations presented by Tim Barber.

Two new members joined the SACO Committee at the meeting.

David Nock has taken on the Development Officer role releasing Colin Wetherley-Mein to focus on the Appointments Officer position. 

Nathan Bartram has joined the committee in a new position of Junior Officials Officer – he will work closely with SACO and Cricket Shropshire to look to encourage and support the emergence of younger umpires to the county. 

Chair Tom Kane also advised the meeting of a successful recruitment and training during the winter.

More than 20 umpires attended the ECB Introduction to Umpiring Courses, and SACO is looking forward to as many of six of these joining the SCCL Umpire Panel for 2025 Season. 

If anyone is interested in getting involved in umpiring or scoring in Shropshire, they can get in touch with either Andy Johnson (Secretary) Tel: 07572 687077 Email  se*******@**********co.uk or Clair Ecclestone (Scorers Representative) Email sc*********@**********co.uk

Board’s work with SACO in spotlight

Cricket Shropshire has been working closely with the Shropshire Association of Cricket Officials (SACO) in recent months to promote the important role both umpires and scorers play in the game in the county.

Umpiring update for 2025

A newsletter has been produced to update Umpires and would-be umpires on courses and CPD available ahead of the 2025 season.

Scorers CPD update

We’ve produced a newsletter to update Scorers on a number of initiatives and courses planned for 2025. It is part of a plan to develop a Scoring Community within Shropshire cricket to help develop the game for everyone.

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