ECB reckons umpires ‘too slow’ for cricket at 65
ECB reckons umpires 'too slow' for cricket at 65
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) defended their decision to sack two of their umpires aging 65. The sport’s governing body stated that cricket umpires should be forced to retire at the age of 65 because their reactions become too slow for the game.
The two experienced umpires, Peter Willey, 65, and George Sharp, 64, who together have 45 years of first-class umpiring experience between them, have taken ECB to an employment tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal and age bias.
Chris Kelly, the ECB’s umpires manager told he Central London Employment Tribunal, on Tuesday, justified the decision taken by the board in ending the umpiring careers at 65. According to The Telegraph, Kelly said, “There’s a need to react speedily at times, and we wouldn’t want to put anyone at risk unnecessarily. It’s common sense. I used to be able to run for long periods of time, now I can’t because I’m older. At that age it’s not easy to stand for long games. A lot of older umpires have told me they feel the days are getting longer. The physical and mental pressures are greater.”
However, the ECB lacks evidence during cross-examination to suggest first-class umpires struggling to perform at their decisive age of 65. Barrister Declan O’Dempsey, representing Mr Willey and Mr Sharp, said, “The respondent should be able to show evidence rather than just making an assumption or relying on his own personal experience. If you are right that there is a decline, do you not think there would be some indication of that in the run-up to age 65?”
Mr Kelly’s acceptance with lack of evidence that older umpires performed poorly made Mr O’Dempsey say, “You in essence stopped yourself from considering their specific cases because you thought ‘we’ve got a policy, that’s it’. You had decided that no reasons were good enough to overcome the retirement policy.”
Both Mr Willey and Mr Sharp were forced to retire last year as they were due to reach the traditional retirement age of 65 before the start of the 2015 season. Willey after playing for England took up umpiring career that saw him stand for 25 Tests while Mr Sharp stood in 15 Tests.
John Holder, 69, who retired at 64 in September 2009, said the two umpires should continue their careers as long as they perform to a high standard. “Peter and George are very good umpires and highly respected by other umpires and the players. I believe 65 is an arbitrary age and umpires should be able to go beyond this. I honestly believe that however young or old umpires are, if they are good enough, they should be allowed to carry on.”
Gordon Hollins, a managing director at ECB said, “When players are on the umpire reserves list, and they’re on a minimal income, they will move on elsewhere if they don’t see an opening. That will mean we lose vitally important people. This is one of the biggest problems for any governing body in sport. We have to look after the overall good of the sport, rather than the personal interests of individual people.”