History of the New South Wales Cricket Umpires Association - 1913 to 1988

History of the New South Wales Cricket Umpires Association - 1913 to 1988 Formation and Early Years The first recorded efforts to form an umpires' association were in 1904, but apparently that Association did not survive for much longer than a year. Twenty-four people attended a meeting in the NSW Cricket Association rooms on 7 September 1904. A constitution was drawn up by a committee and that constitution was adopted by a meeting on 16 September. The last minutes which we have recorded were for a meeting on 7 September 1905. Those minutes were signed by Charles Nicholls on 27 September, but there are no further records of meetings until a meeting of the Cricket Association executive committee was convened with umpires on Friday 15 August 1913. Sydney Smith Jr. a member of the executive committee chaired the meeting at which there were 42 umpires present. It was clear from the outset that the new Association was to be formed "under the control and authority of the New South Wales Cricket Association." How much under the control became apparent in the 1920s when there was a move to abolish the Umpires' Association. R (Dick) Callaway was appointed secretary pro tem, and a committee, comprising A (Alf) Jones, W Curran, WG French, JA Turnbull and J Laing, was appointed to draw up the constitution. The constitution was adopted on 28 August and office-bearers were elected. WH Mitchell was elected the first President. R Callaway and A Jones were elected Secretary and Treasurer respectively. It would seem that the draft constitution was an edited version of the Cricket Association's constitution. The new Association's primary objectives: "To promote the efficiency and welfare of umpires in the interests of cricket generally, (a) by strictly enforcing the Laws and Rules of Cricket as laid down by the Marylebone Cricket Club and the NSW Cricket Association, (b) by adopting a uniform interpretation of the said Laws and Rules, (c) By protecting the umpires appointed by the Association who may from time to time officiate in matches arranged by or played under the auspices of the NSW Cricket Association." 1 The New South Wales Cricket Umpires' Association was launched. Almost immediately the question of fees became an issue with the Cricket Association. Agreement was not reached because of the inadequacy of association finances. The fees varied from ground to ground, according to their accessibility. The fees for Hurstville and Manly were increased from 3/6 to 4/-, and the Domain fee rose from 2/- to 2/6. Interstate and grade cricket was played during the first season of the war (1914-15) but ceased thereafter because of the absence of many players at "the front". Consequently the Cricket Association was deprived of its chief source of funds - match receipts. At the start of the 1915-16 season, it did not have enough funds to pay the umpires and it was suggested to clubs that players each contribute threepence per Saturday to pay the umpires. From its inception the Umpires' Association became an arbiter on interpretation of the Laws, as the minutes books continually refer to letters being received from suburban and country umpires' and cricket associations seeking rulings. Generally, the meetings voted a decision immediately. But contentious questions posed a problem: the MCC was 12000 miles away, with mails taking six weeks one way and telegraph too expensive for protracted discussions. Thus, when its President, WH Mitchell, announced in March 1914 that he was about to visit England, he was given a list of questions to raise with the MCC Secretary. He reported back to the October meeting with the results. The meeting on 10 December 1913 decided to start what we today call "Rules and Rulings" at meetings, but not until 2 December 1914 did the minutes record any questions. Interesting comparisons can be made between questions asked then and questions asked today. The role of the Association in fostering friendship between umpires developed through social cricket matches which were played with kindred associations from the Centennial Park League, the Illawarra District and a number of suburban associations including St George and Balmain. "Smoke concerts" were a popular social activity, and the minutes record a number of visits by Association officials to fraternal gatherings in the suburbs. The first big social occasion, however, was on 24 July 1915 - a Banquet at 4/- per person at the rooms of the Fresh Food and Ice Company…at which no alcoholic liquor was provided because of the war. The war had its effect in other ways on the Association. Although most of its members may have been too old to enlist, some did enlist and were suitably farewelled, and welcomed back on their return. The worst effect, though, was the cancellation of the grade premiership competition and interstate matches. This must have led to a loss of interest, as attendances at meetings declined to near the quorum of 20. There were a number of appeals for new members. 2 Unfortunately, membership statistics are not available after 1916 when the Association had 59 members. Retired members were contacted to see if they could increase the numbers. The office-bearers in this early period were the stalwart Dick Callaway as Secretary and delegate to the Cricket Association, with Alf Jones as Treasurer. The presidency changed annually, a practice that continued into the mid-1920s when George Borwick began his innings of 20 years. After the traumas of formation and of the disruption caused by the war, the Association was on a firm footing to face the 1920s, with the first Test tour for ten years about to take place and First-class players returning from the war. The Thirties These were the years of great difficulty for cricket, with the trauma of the Bodyline series in the early part, and the disruption caused by World War II at the end of the decade. In the thick of the Bodyline series was George Borwick who, with George Hele, umpired all five Tests. Despite their fears that they would see an Australian batsman badly hurt, there was nothing that they could do under the Laws as they were then. For standing through the tensest Test series ever played, the umpires' fees were - Hele 70 pounds, being 10 pounds for the Adelaide (his "home") Test and 15 pounds for the "away" Tests, and Borwick 65 pounds, including his two Tests in his home city. The first tour of the 1930s was by the fledgling West Indies side with Learie Constantine. NSW umpires who stood in Tests included Borwick and WG (Wal) French (second Test at Sydney) and French and H (Harry) Armstrong (fifth Test at Sydney). It would appear, although the records do not show it, that the moves by New South Wales to share the work around had borne fruit. By the start of the decade, the Depression had Australia in its grip. It brought problems for umpires and the Association did all it could to help its members. Members who were out of work were invited to let the Executive Committee know, and their subscription would be waived. The Cricket Association was asked to give preference to unemployed members (whose names were given to the Association privately) in allocating midweek matches. It was also asked to try to assign these members to matches near their homes to minimise travelling expenses. Unemployed members could collect their match allowances weekly instead of monthly. At 9/- a half-day and 15/- a full-day match, these allowances were very useful. The 1931 dinner was cancelled, and the sum of 80 pounds which had been allocated to it was distributed to out-of-work members. 3 The thirties saw the retirement from active umpiring of Alf Jones who had, in his words, "had 42 years in the White Coat" and he thought he had done his part. In his first 30 years, he said once that he had missed only one Saturday - and then, when he was locked up on a jury. His Test career spanned the seasons 1901-02 to 1928-29. The Herald published nearly a column of his reminisces on Test players he had seen, but, regrettably, nothing on umpires he had known. Alf Jones continued to give sterling service to the Association as Treasurer until 1939, and still attended meetings well into the 1940s. There was one new face destined to be around for some time. H (Herb) Elphinston, who suffered various misspellings of his name until he became well known, was elected in September 1934. As the old faces left, the George Borwick era began. Up to the 1935 Annual General Meeting, the presidency of the Association had been shared around. No one member served more than one one-year term. However, in 1935, convention was waived and George Borwick was nominated for the presidency. No one opposed his nomination and subsequent election. For the 1935-36 Season the Cricket Association reduced the umpires' allowance to 8/- per half-day and 12/- per full-day. The finances of the Cricket Association had been hit by the loss of Don Bradman to South Australia, which resulted in a large drop in Sheffield Shield attendances at the SCG. The Association continued to encourage the formation of country associations. When business warranted, annual conferences of affiliated bodies were held in Sydney, often during Country Week. As well, social cricket matches were played against other Sydney based associations. The many entries in the minutes noting these occasions are evidence of their success. Towards the end of the decade, the work of the umpires grew.

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