Random encounters with international cricketers

Last summer, I spent a week in Bermuda with my parents and girlfriend. During my time in England I picked up an interest in cricket, so I decided that we should all go to a match. Never mind that my parents and girlfriend had, at best, a rudimentary knowledge of the game (my girlfriend still giggles when announcers say things along the lines of "He's taken a key wicket there"). I would be there to explain things.

We showed up at Lord's Oval a few minutes before the scheduled start. The players were warming up and there wasn't much of a crowd, so we walked over to the shore and watched some crashing waves to kill some time. After a few minutes we wandered back to the stands (nothing more than the porch of the clubhouse) and awaited the start. The players were all there, and so was an umpire. But one person was missing.

The second umpire, it seems, had either forgotten or decided not to show up. The remaining umpire did about the only thing he could: he came over to the spectators and asked for volunteers. He asked my dad first. He laughed nervously and suggested me as an alternative. "You should ask my son. He knows the rules, at least."

After nervously explaining that my actual cricket experience was limited to 20 overs of wicket-keeping in a lowly MCR vs. porters match, I was nonetheless deputised as the second umpire. I did manage to convince the real umpire to let me remain at square leg; LBWs would be far beyond my ken.

The umpiring itself was rather low-key. I had only a few decisions to make, none of them difficult. The one time I gave someone out was a clear run-out. The batsman had failed to make his ground by at least three feet. On the players were just as bewildered by my being there as I was. "When did you get to the island?" "Yesterday afternoon." "And you're already umpiring cricket?!"

As it turned out, Flatts Victoria handily defeated Western Stars by 101 runs.

A nice story, and a good example of the things that can happen when keeping an open mind while traveling. But why is it timely? Well, as I recently discovered, two of the players in the match I umpired were selected for Bermuda's World Cup side. Thanks to Saleem Mukuddem and Dean Minors, I've been on a cricket pitch with players that have been on a cricket pitch with some of the biggest names in the sport: Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Muttiah Muralitharan and more. All thanks to a desire to sit and watch some cricket one Sunday morning.