decisions down the leg side.

[oldie]

We have just started our season, had three games so far, I am having incredible trouble making decisions down the leg side. I have given at least one player out caught behind, he obviously didn't believe he hit it, and maybe he didn't. Another decision caught down the leg side I got right, but just by luck, I think.

I gave a wide for a ball down the legside in a 20/20 game, and everyone on the field said it hit the thigh pad, including the batsman, so I revoked my decision.

Can anyone out there give me some tips on getting these decisions right most of the time, PLEASE!!!!

[tippexii]

These sorts of things are always difficult - with the bat coming across, it's very difficult to see any deflection on the ball. You've got to go on the sound as much as anything.

If you can find a helpful club, I'd suggest standing in some net sessions would be helpful. When a ball goes down the legside, make a decision in your own mind about what you think it hit (bad, pad, nothing), and then ask the batsman, who's got no reason to mislead you in a practice session. This should help to give you more experience of these type of decisions.

In a match, give your decisions calmly and confidently,, and don't allow yourself to worry about what people's reactions are. You have to accept the fact that you're not going to get everything right - the very best umpires in the world get about 6% of decisions wrong with the naked eye. Every batsman plays bad shots, every fielder drops catches, and every umpire blows decisions. Accepting this, and moving on to the next decision is one of the hardest, and most important skills in developing umpiring.

[jaybee]

tippexii makes some very good points.
In my younger days (when I was a player) I was always told umpires should go on both sound and deflection and never on sound alone. Clearly it's often not possible to see deflection down the leg side so in those cases you're going partly on instinct.
The fact that a batsman looked shirty at getting a decision that he's out shouldn't put you off too much. Sometimes he's annoyed with himself, other times he might be trying to con you and in others you as umpire might have got it wrong.
I've heard some say that if the batsman looks back it's a sure indication that he knew he hit it - sometimes that's true but I don't think it's a good enough sign. The main thing is to stay calm, take time (but not too much time) over your decision, give the batsman the benefit of anything other than trivial doubt and trust yourself.

Could you be looking too hard? Last season I tried to follow the advice of Martin Brundle (ex F1 racing driver and now commentator) whose comments relating to the starting lights is 'look don't stare' - apparently this saves a fraction of a second in reaction time. I did find that, when I followed this mantra, I felt I gave better stumping decisions - and had comments from players which suggested that it might have helped me get things right.

[swerveman]

Excellent replies from tippexii and jaybee. I gave two batsmen out caught down the leg side early last season, when the ball had actually hit the thigh pad. The first time, the non-striker was the captain, and he accepted the difficulty straight away. The second time, the striker was the captain (different game, different team), and he came up to me later and told me he didn't have a problem with the decision.

Just be honest, and you'll be OK.

[Guest]

Sometimes it may be worth consulting your colleague - one good reason why he should stand on leg side.

[sillypoint]

The best advice I could offer, oldie, is to make sure that you learn to track the ball in flight. As soon as possible after you are satisfied with the bowler's foot placement your eyes should locate the ball in the air (and, yes, this IS possible) and then lock onto it and follow it so that you can see its line of flight, where it pitches, what if anything it touches of the striker's bat or person, and where it goes after that contact until it either goes to hand or ground. If you track the ball in this way you will give yourself the best chance to get most of your decisions right.

[oldie]

Thanks to all the constructive thoughts, I particularly like the tracking of the ball from "sillypoint" I will certainly give this a try in my next game. I guess the ball should be the critical point of focus, everything else is just "packing". If the ball is not involved then it shouldn't matter!

I say to "guest" in my games, I stand alone, do both ends, square leg is occupied by the batting side. Many years ago I umpired at a higher level, my claim to fame is umpiring David boon and Ricky Ponting in the same game, Ponting was 17 and Boon was in his last year. Then I would umpire with a "mate" and yes we had discreet signals that would suggest pad or bat.

[oldie]

Just some feedback. I had a game yesterday, It would have to be the most satisfying game I have done in a while, I was seeing the ball like a football. Tracking the ball as early as possible really did help. Thanks everyone.

[sillypoint]

One further point about tracking the ball. If you were to fix your eyes on the striker's end and view the action there as if through a frame then the ball will be a moving object within that frame and will thus be somewhat blurred; to a lesser extent, so will the bat. On the other hand, if your eyes are tracking the ball, it will be in focus and you will be better placed to observe what, if anything, it touches as it passes through the striker's zone.

[mrsingh]

Good point there by sillypoint.
As he says, the best way is to latch on to the ball in the air as soon as possible and follow it through.
Let it not be said that this is not possible.