Bad calls by bowler's end umpire

[squarecut]

I've recently done a Level 1 umpires course, and knowing this a couple of parents at our club have come to me with enquiries,
and as can be expected they involve their kids being given out in debatable circumstances.
Both the instances below occurred in an U13 boys league where usually each club provides an umpire, though the standard/experience of the umpires is often very variable.

In an U13 boys game yesterday the situation was that the ball bounced three times before the popping crease, our boy is bowled, their umpire gives him out, our umpire feels, rightly in my view, that he can't really say anything. Result is outraged dad, boy in tears.

Then earlier this week in another boys U13 game but with some one year overage girls also playing, our 13 year-old opener was bowled by a ball which rolled after pitching. There was the same situation of their umpire giving her out, but our umpire not being able to say anything. This time the girl was OK as she knows you get some bad calls, though it was the first ball of the match, so a bad way to start.

As far as I know the striker's umpire isn't able to intervene in such a situation, but I would welcome peoples' thoughts on this. 
The unlucky boy and girl are both honest and both probably know the laws as well as any kids of their age, so I'm sure the situations were as described.
In both the situations I believe the opposition umpires were fairly inexperienced; I have spoken to one of our umpires, who confirmed that he didn't feel able to intervene, though he agreed that he would have called no-ball had be been the bowlers-end umpire.

Anyway, I welcome your thoughts
Thanks
Tim

[tippex2]

I agree that, in principle, the striker's end umpire shouldn't intervene in cases like this - sets a bad tone for the rest of the game. It's inevitable that, as long as coaches / overseas players / random hangers on end up umpiring games, you're going to get people who don't know the Laws as well as one would wish standing.

Best I can suggest is that you talk to the players at your club, explain that as their career develops they're going to get bad decisions (both in their favour and against them) and that learning to deal with them is one of the key skills about being a cricketer.

Does anyone know if the ACO introductory course still exists? I did a few sessions a few years ago of a 1-evening course which was a whistle-stop through the Laws, aimed at players who might end up doing a 10-over umpiring shift, and coaches who stand in junior games. Obviously not enough to get a qualification or stand on a Saturday in a senior league match, but anything which helps improvie knowledge of the Laws by any degree has to be a Good Thing.

[Antipodean]

The law regarding bouncing more than twice and rolling used to say that it was up to the bowlers end umpire to call. I'm pretty sure it was revision 3 where it was reworded to just say the umpire shall call, which (unless I'm mistaken - a possibility!) would suggest that the strikers end umpire is able to call the no-ball, which kind of makes sense as alot of the time the strikers end will have a better idea of the close calls. (popping crease, or skidding balls barely bouncing etc)

So intervene? Nope, but there is possibly a mechanism to deal with it in play. Especially at the junior level, especially as a coach/parent etc id rather look like a rebel pushing limits and give a batsmen a go than potentially ruin a kids interest in the game regardless of the team. 

Out of interest, do you know what the outraged dad did? 

[tippex2]

According to the Definitions (Appendix D to the Laws) "where the description 'the umpire' is used on its own, it always means ‘the bowler’s end umpire’ though this full description is sometimes used for emphasis or clarity. Similarly the umpires always means both umpires. An umpire and umpires are generalised terms. Otherwise, a fuller description indicates which one of the umpires is specifically intended."

As always, the bowler's end umpire can ask his colleague for help if that would be useful but if, as appears to be the case here, the bowler's end umpire has misunderstood or mis-applied the Laws, he probably doesn't know that there's anything he could ask about.

[squarecut]

Thanks for your responses.
I would also like to believe that the striker's end umpire could have an input, but it would appear that tippex2 is correct and that the decision rests with the bowler's end umpire. I'm thinking of contacting the county board that runs the competition in question and asking them to remind clubs that umpires should call no-balls in these situations. I think the non-calling of triple bounce and rolling deliveries is very unfair on the batsman - there's a reason why this is deemed to be a no-ball.

Regarding the outraged dad - I believe he shared his opinion on the quality of the umpiring with some of the spectating parents until someone suggested he went for a stroll away from the match until he had calmed down.

[sillypoint]

As pointed out already, the decision is one for the bowler's end umpire to make (ref Law 24.7 and Appendix D). The only way the striker's end umpire could intervene is to discretely offer assistance to the bowler's end umpire. For example, as the batsman is walking off, go to his colleague and say something like: "Do you realise that a ball bouncing more than twice (or rolling along the pitch, in the second case) is actually a No Ball?" You could also tell him that in your opinion he should change his decision and recall the batsman (ref Law 27.9). If the bowler's end umpire chooses to ignore this and do nothing, then so be it. This is one way in which a more experienced umpire may be able to assist an inexperienced colleague, but it must be done in a way that doesn't undermine him/her. Our aim as umpires should always be to try to make sure the right thing is done, and even if there is a bit of egg on the face it is better to try and achieve this if possible.

[gooders]

Could I just canvas opinions on what you might do if you were the bowler's end umpire, and a run was attempted as the ball is played down to the third man area. The ball was returned to the wicket keeper with the non-striker short of his ground. Your colleague sees the bails fly off and decides that he is run out. However, you have seen that the wicket keeper did not have the ball in his hands when he broke the wicket.
Now we are told that run outs at the striker's end are the jurisdiction of the strikers end umpire, but should you intervene from the non-striker's end?
Will Law 43 be applied?

[tippex2]

May 25, 2016 8:01:35 GMT gooders said:

Could I just canvas opinions on what you might do if you were the bowler's end umpire, and a run was attempted as the ball is played down to the third man area. The ball was returned to the wicket keeper with the non-striker short of his ground. Your colleague sees the bails fly off and decides that he is run out. However, you have seen that the wicket keeper did not have the ball in his hands when he broke the wicket.
Now we are told that run outs at the striker's end are the jurisdiction of the strikers end umpire, but should you intervene from the non-striker's end?
Will Law 43 be applied?

This happened to me a couple of years ago, albeit in a Premier League match with a similarly experienced colleague at square leg. I didn't overrule his decision immediately, but headed straight over and made it clear that I had relevant information - the keeper had been between my colleague and the stumps as the ball came in and so he hadn't seen the breaking of the wicket.

My colleague (as would be expected) overturned his decision and recalled the batsman, and the fielding side accepted this without a problem as several of their members had also seen that the bails had been taken early.

In summary, I would never directly overrule a colleague when there's a decision in his jurisdiction, but if I've seen something factual and unequivocal I'd make it clear that he should ask me for my opinion.

[sillypoint]

Re : "I didn't overrule his decision immediately"—
One thing is quite certain in all of this—you CANNOT overrule a colleagues decision. All you can do, and in my opinion if you are CERTAIN that he/she is making a mistake you should do, is offer him/her the additional information you have available.

What led me to this view was an incident some years ago when I gave a batsman Not Out who was clearly out of his ground because the keeper had obscured the wicket from my view at the critical moment and the ball ran on past me, so he clearly did not have it in hand when the wicket was broken. To add insult to injury, the ball ran on across the boundary. My decision was accepted philosophically at the time, but later I learned that the ball itself had broken the wicket. Not only that, but my colleague had had a clear view of all of this but did not offer me that information. Unfortunately I had not had the presence of mind to ask him if he had seen the wicket broken. Ever since, I have been convinced that it is better to offer the information you have than allow an obvious error to occur. Our aim should always be to get it right if at all possible, even if that may mean a little egg on faces at the time.

[jaybee]

It's my - and many other umpires' - practice to move over and have a few words at the fall of each wicket to compare score and balls bowled etc. This is surely an opportunity to have a quiet word and may be even more appropriate if the colleague isn't as knowledgeable.

[wtachetna]

I am a huge fan of cricket and want to learn the skills of an umpire. Can you please suggest me some course which I can opt?