Keeping Ahead of the New Rules Downunder

Hello everyone

Please have a watch of the incident which resulted in Queenslander Mark Steketee's dismissal at the SCG today. John Hutchison and I were in the pavilion at the time. Steketee having initially walked hung around within the field of play just inside the rope and for some time seemingly reluctant to accept the decision. It's a case where umpires have to know not just the Laws but a competition's specific conditions of play.  The match itself was a high scoring draw, the "crowd" was absolutely paltry , John counted 68 present.

see below

Cheers Andy

Catch off fielder’s helmet illustrates proposed Laws change.

PTG Editor.

Media reports.

Monday, 13 February 2017.

PTG 2047-10371.

Queensland's Mark Steketee has been dismissed under a new Playing Condition Cricket Australia brought into the Sheffield Shield for the 2016-17 austral summer regarding helmets worn by close-in fielders.  Steketee was given out caught at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday after his pull shot ricocheted off the helmet of NSW short leg fielder Nick Larkin and ballooned to Sean Abbott at leg gully, who took a comfortable catch.

Under the current Laws of Cricket Steketee would not have been given out but the Play Conditions amendment means it's now a fair catch.  The Sheffield Shield's amendment to Law 32 (a fair catch) of the Laws states that a batsman will be given out when "a fielder catches the ball after it has touched an umpire, another fielder or the other batsman or any protective equipment worn by any of those persons”.

The Playing Conditions continue: "This playing condition modifies the Marylebone Cricket Club's (MCC) Laws of Cricket to, for example, allow for a batsman to be out caught off a ball that ricochets off the protective helmet being worn by a player or umpire”.  That change was made in the wake of the Curtain Review into the death of Phillip Hughes (PTG 1825-9241, 12 May 2016). 

That review's recommendations included that the highest standard of helmets become mandatory for batsmen facing fast and medium pace bowling, for wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps and for fielders positioned close to the batter, except those in the slips  and gully area.  

While the Shield Playing Conditions have changed, the current MCC Law means a similar catch would not stand in Test cricket. That was seen when Australian batsman Matthew Wade was given not out during this last year's Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, when he was 'caught' off the helmet of close fielder Azhar Ali (PTG 2015-10197, 30 December 2016).  That may no be the case for long though as the MCC is believed to be changing the Law later this year (PTG 1998-10086, 8 December 2016).

11/02/17

Too Hot to Handle (Downunder)

Hello everyone

Am grounded to-day as an umpire because all amateur cricket in this area has been cancelled for the day. The temperature locally is anticipated to be around 40 degrees.

See below

Cheers Andy

Extreme temperatures to stop play in NSW.
PTG Editor.

Media reports.

Friday, 10 February 2017.

PTG 2045-10362.

Forecast temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Centigrade across much of New South Wales (NSW) has led to club cricket in many competitions across the state being cancelled this weekend.  Coastal areas of Sydney are anticipating maximum temperatures around 39 degrees, in western Sydney it could go as as high as 44, while some inland areas of the state will experience maximums in the order of 46 degrees.

The Sheffield Shield match between NSW and Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) got underway on Friday, the mercury reaching 38 degrees, conditions some players reportedly found particularly exhausting. While that match is to continue on Saturday, NSW and Cricket Australia (CA) chief medical officer John Orchard, backed the decision by Cricket NSW to cancel Sydney grade cricket, as well as its call to other competitions not under its direct control to take similar action.

Orchard said: “My main concern is that club cricket does not have the infrastructure in place to safely monitor and manage heat stroke in what is essentially an amateur volunteer-run organisation. At the SCG we have medical staff in place that will be monitoring players who are showing any signs of symptoms and making sure no one with heat stress returns to play. We also checked before the game that no one had pre-existing illness”.

Cricket NSW chief executive Andrew Jones said his organisation’s decision regarding the club game was "not [one] we take lightly”. "We waited for the latest forecast possible before making a final decision. We want men and women, girls and boys, to play as much cricket as possible however duty of care comes first. Each association should judge the suitability to play depending on local conditions in their region but the welfare of players and umpires must be the central consideration”.

The current summer in Sydney is the hottest in the 158 years since meteorological records began, to date ten days having had temperatures above 35 degrees.

Fielder bitten after encountering a snake.
James Illingworth.

Wigan Today.

Friday, 10 February 2017.

PTG 2045-10363.

A young English cricketer, who normally plays in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition, had more than snarling Aussie opponents to reckon with when he was bitten by a poisonous snake during a match 'Down Under’ late last month.  Fast bowler Joe Lyth, 18, who was fielding on the boundary for his Pennant Hills District Cricket Club second grade side in the Sydney Shires Competition, had to retrieve a ball that had been struck over his head for six, and it was then that he came across the reptile. 

On jumping the perimeter fence to collect the ball from some undergrowth, he disturbed a large red-bellied black snake. He said: “As I grabbed the ball, I saw the snake and as I turned to run away I felt it grab my heel. I got back on the field and felt dizzy, my eyes started to swell up and my ears were ringing. The bite didn’t hurt at the time, it just felt like a little nip”.

Lyth's quick-thinking teammates ran from the ground in order to identify what type of snake it was, one managing to take a picture, in order doctors knew precisely what treatment was required. He was quickly taken to hospital where he had several anti-venom and steroid injections. He was also hooked up to an IV drip for several days after the incident.

Although the bite of a red-bellied black - one of Australia’s most common snakes - can be potentially deadly, there have been no recorded deaths as the amount of venom deposited is rarely at a fatal level.   However, it can cause blood-clotting problems and nerve damage without immediate treatment.

Lyth said: “I wanted to play this weekend but the club said it probably wasn’t a good idea as I wasn’t 100 per cent.  Out of all the Aussies I’ve met whilst over here, none of them have been bitten by a snake and most of them - as they’re living in Sydney - have never even seen one. I think I’ve just been unlucky.  At first I told my family [in England] I’d got injured so they wouldn’t worry.  But then the club posted a picture on its ‘Facebook' page of me hooked up to the IV drip so they weren’t too happy to find out like that, but it was a white lie!”