Cumbria Cricket League is looking to attract more umpires to stand in games next season.
A series of courses are being organised in the new year to encourage the recruitment of potential new officials.
At the moment the League needs 30 umpires to cover the three divisions each week.
Arthur Lamb, the secretary of the North Lancashire and Cumbria Umpires Federation says they have more than that – but not all are available every week.
“Particularly over the second half of the season numbers fall off, through various reasons.
“We seem to be particularly short in the south of the county which means umpires from the north have to travel down to make up numbers.
“In some games we have only had one official umpire standing.
“A year ago we had three new umpires joining us, two of them ex-players and it would be nice to get a similar number this time.”
With the progress being made on the world stage by women’s cricket, Cumbria does have two regular female umpires.
Mary Smith, in fact, entered the Guinness Book of Records this year for the length of time she had been umpiring.
Earlier in the season Mary and Keavy Horricks made history at Cleator when they became the first all-female umpiring team to officiate in the Cumbria Cricket League’s 130-year-history.
The first stage is a free online course that will teach how to apply the laws of the game to the field of play. This is ideal for those who are keen to get into umpiring.
Stage Two is a face-to-face session covering further Laws and exploring the concept of working as part of a team of fellow umpires and scorers. It is intended to introduce newcomers to the skills and knowledge required to be a member of a league panel.
One session is being held at the Cockermouth cricket club on January 9 (9.30am to 4.30pm) and the second at the Haverigg club on January 15 (10am to 4pm).
Stage Three is a two-day workshop at Cockermouth Cricket Club (5 and 6 March – 10am to 4pm) which covers the regulations common in limited overs cricket and further interpretation and application of the Laws.
There is also advice on both the physical and mental health aspects involved in umpiring such as nutrition, concentration and analysis.
It is designed for both those starting out on their umpiring journey and those with more experience.
