What odd bit of kit do you carry?

[igmc]

Following on from the trousers thread, and where we carry all our bits and pieces, it made me think of asking:

What bits of kit (above and beyond the list of answers to the exam questions) have you found useful to have to hand on the field or in the bag? I'd be interested to know as there may be some good ideas that would help us all.

I carry plasters, and the painkillers that can be chewed/swallowed.

Some umpires have chewing gum, but for me I hate the stuff and that is for the players to sort out.

One thing I have found handy. A bowler started shedding studs and carefully gave each one to me. He was very appreciative when, at a drinks interval, I gave him his studs and a flat metal stud key. It must have been three or four years before this that I'd been clearing out an old golf bag, found it, and thought it might be handy. It has been used a few times since then.

So what do you carry?

[jerryspaniel]

I have just had a look at the waist bag. Its surprising what you can get in it!! I started umpiring with just a counter and the collection just seems to grow all the time.
I have an aluminium multi gauge, a mini pen-knife set, spare marbles, run counter, spare ball counter, spare pens, notebook, bowlers mark, Neurofen, heat rub, plasters, league rulebook (if appropriate), boiled sweets, spare Cooper cards, MCC blue book. I also have sun block, sun glasses, ball towel and heavy bails which go in there if weather seems appropriate. And then I keep Tom Smiths in my kit bag along with a few other spares (bails, stud spanner etc).
The only things I carry on my person are my marbles, the Cooper card, a pen, the ECB directives and maybe the run counter if I am not confident in the scorers.

[Hedley thorne]

Could we be informed exactly how big the bag is? I trust you are not so laden down that you cannot move quickly enough to witness run outs etc.

[jerryspaniel]

I can see why you might think that!
Have a look at the new photos of the bags on this website. Most of those you can get three balls in! Quite why you would want three I dont know.
I have nothing in my trouser pockets, so I think its much easier to move around.

[gooders]

Whilst I can agree with plasters and a penknife, I would never dream of taking painkillers out with me (unless they were for my own use). Not knowing what strange allergies a player may have, giving painkillers could do more harm than good. I'd prefer to leave that to the trained first aid personnel at the ground - let them suffer the wrath of the compensation claim society we currently live in!

[igmc]

Thanks Gooders. I think I agree with you - I have carried the painkillers for ages (at the suggestion of an experienced umpire) but never been asked for them! Probably past their sell-by date by next season so will get ditched.

Agree with you too about using the first-aid facilities. I'd certainly never carry a resuscitation device unless they made a first-aid qualification mandatory for umpires (at which point I and probably many others would give up). Trying to use one of those could open up a whole set of problems.

As you say, the whole compensation/liability culture is a difficult area. And I wouldn't trust the judiciary to apply much common sense either if someone decided to sue.

[Acumen]

I quoted three balls to show how big the bags are.

I rarely carry more than two - our league rules may require a new ball in the middle of a session so we need that as well as one spare which sometimes ands up at my end and may be inconvenient to transfer to my colleague.

There is one ground which is notorious for losing balls in the adjoining wood, where three lost balls at any one time is not unusual - fortunately most are recovered eventually.

[jerryspaniel]

I hear what you say.
The Neurofen I mentioned is mainly for me (not much good having a headache when you are trying to concentrate in the summer sunshine). Nobody has ever asked me for them and I certainly wouldnt give them to under 18s. However if someone specifically asked if I had some I am not sure I would say I hadnt or refuse to give them some. After all its over the counter and two is the dosage.
Sometimes the nanny state we live in can be just too pervasive.... but thats another can of worms which probably doesnt need opening in this forum!!