Date-stamped : 12 Apr95 - 14:40
Elders Flower in West Indies

Mike Selvey in Barbados on the decision to go for `experience` in
the third-umpire position for the Test series against Australia

EUPHEMISTICALLY, experience is prominent  in  the   West   Indies
Cricket  Board`s  choice  of umpires to monitor television-replay
decisions during the forthcoming four-Test series  against   Aus-
tralia.

With what amounts to the game`s world championship at  stake, um-
pires   aged  63 and 72 are among the four men, local to the Test
venues at Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad and Jamaica, who have  been
chosen  by the West Indies Umpires Committee to make the line ad-
judications.

The other two, Halley Moore from Barbados and Pat White  from An-
tigua   are   relatively  young  -  in  their 40s - and active as
first-class umpires. But Ralph Gosein and  Johnny  Gayle are   so
"experienced"  that  they  probably remember the early matches of
Carl Rackemann, who at the ripe old age of 35 has just been added
to  the  touring  squad as Craig McDermott`s replacement (so much
for Australia`s youth policy).

Gosein, from Trinidad, is a sprightly 63; Gayle, from  Jamai- ca,
is  the  72-year  -old.  Neither  is in intimate contact with the
reality of umpiring international  cricket.

Gosein, who stood in 25 Tests between  1965  and  1978,   offici-
ated  as  third  umpire  in  two of the five recent limited-overs
internationals but has not handled  a first-class  game  for   15
years,  although  he remains actively involved in the training of
umpires.

Gayle`s international experience extends to only three Tests, all
at Sabina Park - two, in 1972 and 1985, involving New Zealand and
the other when England toured in 1986. In  a  region  where   the
quality of umpiring has frequently been questionable, it is not a
pedigree to be hawking round the Kennel Club.

Yesterday, however, Steve Camacho, the secretary of the  WICB and
one of three members of the committee that appoints the local um-
pires, defended the selection of the old brigade.

"This is the first time that we have  used  the  third-umpire fa-
cility   in   the  West  Indies," he said yesterday. "Although we
have had matches televised across  the  Caribbean  since  England
were  here  in  1990,  and as a result the technology has been in
place, we did not feel we should use it until it became  mandato-
ry.

"Now we wish to leave nothing to chance. Bearing in mind that the
role  of   the  third  umpire  is not the same as that of the man
standing in the field, we opted for men of  proven  track  record
and experience.

"In appointing those that we have, we feel that  it  will  be for
the best."

Age should not necessarily be a   barrier   provided   there   is
continuity  - Dickie Bird for example is 61 - but there are those
who will see the appointments as nothing short of  jobs for   the
old boys.

The selection process, for  example,   is   instructive.   Candi-
dates   are  put  forward for approval by the West Indies Cricket
Umpires` Association, the secretary of which just happens  to  be
Mr Gayle.

Camacho denies anything sinister   in   the   appointments.   "If
there  were  younger  people  available in whom we had confidence
then they would have been appointed," he said, adding  that  cost
was  another  factor in using local men, as the West Indies board
was responsible for funding not only its own umpires but also the
independent  officials for this series - the Indian Venkat, David
Shepherd, who will  umpire  the middle  two  matches,  and   Karl
Leibenberg   from  South Africa  - appointed by the International
Cricket Council.

Yet it is a stinging indictment of the standard  of  emerging um-
pires   in   both  Trinidad and Jamaica if in truth these are the
best officials available.

Camacho`s assertion that thus far all has run  smoothly  does not
quite   ring    true.   In  one  of the one-day internationals in
Trinidad, the young Australia batsman Greg Blewett was given  out
stumped on the adjudication of Gosein. It was very close, and any
sort of positive conclusion  was  possible  only  after  multiple
recourse  to  the sort of ultra-slow replays that were not avail-
able to Gosein.

In fact, the umpire got it right,   but   the   implication   was
that  he managed it only by chance. In that game, where Australia
were being hopelessly outgunned, it did not matter unduly. In the
cauldron  of  a Test, however, the players might justifiably feel
less than confident about who  is  staring into  the   television
screen.

Source :: The Guardian
<END> Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)