A week at home to get the gardening done and house prepared for winter and then back to India for the rest of IPL. I arrived firstly in the Jaipur, the Pink City and spent a couple of days acclimatising to the new time zone and temperatures. 40 degree heat was offset by a great hotel in Jaipur and a little sightseeing in between match duties. I joined fellow umpire Johan Cloete and his family for a morning out seeing a few local places of interest.

Johan and his family enjoyed seeing the local elephants with their make-up

Myself with Johan's son John at the big lake

One of the "gates" to the city of Jaipur - that's why they call it the "Pink City" (well terracotta)

After umpiring the match in Jaipur, we then travelled to Mohali for a game, then on to Delhi and then on to Hyderabad. We are now in Kolkata and have done a match here already and have another match tonight. The schedule is reasonably busy with plenty of match days followed by travel days but you do get used to the system and routine. I’ve found some new fans here in Kolkata (below) and I’m more than happy to have them as friends rather than enemies!

It’s another day of 40 degree temperature here in Kolkata and we are expecting another large crowd at Eden Gardens – something close to 70 000 people. The noise and atmosphere is something else and we as umpires struggle to hear each other on the ground.

The quality of India’s hotels and airports has changed a lot over the past couple of years – they have improved massively. I used to come to India expecting to lose weight but so far, despite much work in the gym, we have been subject to some fine hospitality at every venue by some really nice people, and I have actually not lost any weight at all. The food has been first class and the dinners held pretty late at night – it’s a real challenge to say no when our hosts keep ordering food on our behalf. My breakfasts are now reduced to a bowl of fruit and a couple of pieces of toast with vegemite – not much else is required until dinner time!

Back to work now, hope all is well with you and I trust that all the mothers were appreciated and honoured last Sunday for Mother’s Day. Thanks Mum!

Take care, Simon.

Speaking about his decision, Craig McDermott said: “It has been a very difficult decision to leave my position as the bowling coach of the Australian cricket team, a job I have thoroughly enjoyed since beginning 12 months ago.

“However the team’s schedule is a particularly busy one and after looking at the upcoming touring demands, I felt this to be the right decision from a personal and professional point of view.

“It has been a great honour to work with our most exciting bowlers over this period and we have achieved much success. The progression of particular players and the improvement of depth in Australian bowling stocks has been the result of much hard work from both sides and is something I am particularly proud of.

“While I have agreed to provide input through Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence, I am looking to continue my coaching career in a context that allows me further flexibility and will be looking to explore a range of options. I am certainly not ruling out being involved with the Australian cricket team in the future should that fit within the team’s requirements.

“For now though, I want to thank Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur for the opportunity and wish them and the team every success over a really exciting next 12 months of cricket.”

Head Coach Mickey Arthur paid tribute to McDermott’s contribution: “Craig has done outstanding job since taking over the role and without doubt will be very difficult to replace. As the Australian public and cricket world has seen, Craig has taken our fast bowlers to another level and his skills and experience will be sorely missed around the group.”

“However we completely understand and respect Craig’s decision. The international schedule is a particularly busy one and family must always come first. We wish Craig the best and really hope he can be involved with the team at some point in the future,” Mickey Arthur said.

Australia ODI Squad
Michael Clarke (c) NSW  31
Shane Watson (vc) NSW  30
George Bailey TAS  29
Patrick Cummins NSW  19
Xavier Doherty TAS 29
Ben Hilfenhaus TAS  29
Mike Hussey WA  36
David Hussey VIC  34
Mitchell Johnson WA  30
Brett Lee NSW  35
Clint McKay VIC  29
James Pattinson VIC  22
Steve Smith NSW  22
Matthew Wade VIC  24
David Warner NSW  25

Australia A Squad
Ed Cowan (c) TAS  29
Peter Forrest (vc) QLD  26
George Bailey TAS  29
Jackson Bird TAS  25
Joe Burns QLD  22
Tom Cooper SA  25
Patrick Cummins  NSW 19
Ben Cutting QLD  25
Liam Davis WA 27
Jon Holland VIC 24
Mitchell Johnson WA 30
Michael Klinger SA  31
Nathan Lyon SA  24
Tim Paine TAS  27
James Pattinson VIC  22
Steve Smith NSW  22
Mitchell Starc NSW  22

Commenting on the ODI squad, National Selector John Inverarity said: “We will have to be at the top of our game to go to England and beat them on their home soil but we’ve selected a strong squad and believe we have the ability to win this one-day series.

“Steve Smith has been rewarded for his late season form. He has come into strong contention for the Australian ICC World Twenty20 squad to be named in August and the NSP is keen to have him in the set-up in England as the reserve batsman, noting that his leg-spinners would provide good variation to our attack.

“Mitchell Johnson has also been included in this ODI squad. He, also, is in strong contention for the ICC World Twenty20 and needs to be in the set-up and have some quality competitive cricket leading into this. The NSP is looking forward to Mitchell being reinvigorated after being out of the game for six months.

“We are also excited about the return of Pat Cummins and we are looking to ease him back into the team. He will not be expected to play in all of the eight scheduled games.

“Peter Forrest, Mitchell Starc, Dan Christian, Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill have not been included in this squad. During the Australian summer and in the West Indies, Peter Forrest and Mitchell Starc were two young players who grasped their opportunities and acquitted themselves well and enhanced their reputations. However, they have made way in this squad for Steve Smith and Pat Cummins.

“In February and March, Dan Christian showed what a very useful and good all-rounder he is, making some strong contributions. He has been omitted to make way for Mitchell Johnson, but remains very much in our plans for the ICC World Twenty20 and a distinct possibility for the ODIs and T20s against Pakistan in August/September.

“Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill have not been included as Xavier Doherty has been preferred as the only spinner and Matthew Wade is the only ‘keeper. It is a great deal easier getting replacements to England than to the West Indies and both Nathan and Peter will be on standby should they be required,” Inverarity said.

Commenting on the Australia A squad, Inverarity said: “The Australia A Squad has been difficult to finalise. While there is a busy schedule of cricket ahead, it cannot be known in advance which of the 15 players in the ODI Squad for England and Ireland will have heavy loads and those who will not and would therefore benefit from playing some games on the Australia A tour. Also, there is an ICC World Twenty20 preparation camp in Australia in August. Those on the Australia A tour who are selected for the ICC World Twenty20 (and the ODIs and T20s against Pakistan immediately before this) will have to leave the A tour after one or two of the scheduled four games. Hence there will be a need for replacements and a degree of flexibility.

“The Australia A Squad has been selected with two factors very much in mind. The first is that good performances in the Australian summer have been recognised and rewarded, while keeping an ever open eye for younger players coming through. The second is a focus on the Ashes tour of 2013 and familiarising a number of our less experienced international players and back-up players with English conditions. The NSP has also been mindful of not overloading some players, not least David Warner and Matthew Wade. David Hussey has had considerable exposure to English grounds and conditions. These three were not considered for this A tour as they will have had plenty of cricket.

“The NSP is keen to accelerate the return to form of Tim Paine. Tim was impressive when he represented Australia in the various formats and he is recovering well from his injury. Michael Klinger’s sustained good performances over a number of seasons has been recognised and rewarded and he will open the innings with Ed Cowan. Jon Holland has been included as a promising young spin bowler as we attempt to expand our spin bowling stocks.

“Joe Burns is a young player who has shown consistency and all-round batsmanship and it is anticipated that this tour to England will provide for him some very valuable experience. Another to come on the scene recently is Jackson Bird, who bowled exceptionally well for Tasmania last summer. It is likely that he will be well suited to English conditions. The NSP also regards Liam Davis and Tom Cooper as exciting cricketers who deserve opportunities to impress at this level. The NSP is pleased to note that Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja will have extended periods in the English County set-up, together with other more established players. Mitchell Starc will have a stint with Yorkshire and this will give him further valuable experience.”

VB Tour of The British Isles – ODIs
15 June Australia ODI squad arrives England
21 June vs Leicestershire, Grace Road
23 June ODI vs Ireland, Stormont, Belfast
26 June vs Essex, Chelmsford
29 June ODI vs England, Lord’s
1 July ODI vs England, The Oval
4 July ODI vs England, Edgbaston
7 July ODI vs England, Durham
10 July ODI vs England, Old Trafford
11 July Australia ODI squad departs England

VB Tour of England – A team
17 July  Australia A assembles in England
27 July – 29 July  vs Derbyshire, County Ground Derby (three-day game)
1 August – 3 August  vs  Durham, Durham (three-day game)
7 August – 10 August vs England Lions, Old Trafford (four-day game)
14 August – 17 August vs England Lions, Edgbaston (four-day game)
18 August Australia A departs England

Late-nineteenth century Australian tours to and from England frequently paused there as the USA was seen as an important opportunity for international cricket experience. At that time the US teams were often more than competitive with victories regularly recorded to home sides against our teams (Ed.)

Day 1
Well after a very challenging day of flying, not flying, and staring at others also not flying I did finally make it to the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival. Thursday evening and overnight had some very bad storms across most of the central USA and those storms caused havoc with flying schedules for me today.  After almost 7 hours of travel, I did reach the Philadelphia Cricket Club. No effort is too large for a chance to see some cricket!

The PCC sits is a lovely and leafy area just outside Philadelphia called Chestnut Hill. The ground is very well tended, the grass is very green, and there is a nice old (by US standards) church just outside the boundary.

My dear friend Frank and I were able to catch the last match of the day at the PCC to watch the hosts fall to Commonwealth. PCC was able to reach 114 all out in 19 overs with Commonwealth completing the chase at 116 for 4 in 16 overs.

It was a lovely sun drenched day and it was a true joy to see cricket being played in the USA. The crowd, slightly larger than the typical ‘3 men and a dog’ but not by much, was engaged and really seemed to be enjoying the play. We were all treated to a bit of bowling by South African Paul Harris who was the celebrity for the PCC. Paul also had a big tonk of 6 in a chanceless innings since he just faced the 1 ball before the final wicket fell.

There is a long cricket tradition here in the Philadelphia area and this annual Festival is part of what keeps that tradition strong.

That’s all for today’s report. Tomorrow, we hope to visit two or three other venues and perhaps even pop over to the CC Morris Cricket Library and Museum.

Until tomorrow then.

Day 2
A truly brilliant day today. After a night of hard rain, the weather turned beautiful with a mix of mild sunshine in temps hovering around 23-24C. We were able to take in 3 different matches at three different venues in and around Philadelphia.

The first match was at Merion CC where we saw Sarasota succeed in a tough chase and beat a valiant Littleton side.

Merion is a wonderful club set in another lovely area just outside of Philadelphia. The club dates all the way back to 1865 and began with the following simple statement “We, the undersigned, agree to unite together in a cricket club to meet for play next spring at least once a week.”  Merion CC has added several other sports like lawn tennis and squash, but cricket is still regularly played there and Merion CC is one of the anchors of this festival. Merion also has a classically odd cricket scoring rule. If a batter hits the ball in the air and it hits the clubhouse on the full, he is given out automatically and his team must sacrifice 10 runs. Only in cricket!

From Merion, we drove over to Haverford College for a very different type of experience. The other clubs we have seen have been different levels, although all high, of private sporting clubs in the traditional fashion. Large and well groomed playing areas, stately pavilions, and magnificent club houses fit for formal events and gala balls.

Cope Field at Haverford College is much more on par with a village green.

Mr. Cope donated the land to the college in the 1870s with the understanding that it would be used for cricket in perpetuity. The field itself is modest and somewhat irregular. The pavilion is also modest.

However, in all its modesty, Cope Field shone just as brightly for me because the love of game was just as strong, the bowlers bowled just as hard, and batters still fought mightily to defend their wickets.

In addition to Cope Field, Haverford is home to the C.C. Morris Cricket Library and Museum. Haverford College also has the only University XI in America.

The third venue was the Germantown CC*.

Another of the grand cricket clubs of the Philadelphia are, the GCC has both a lovely field and a lovely clubhouse. Alas, the match we watched was very one-sided with Indoor Cricket USA chasing down the hosts in only 12 overs. Still a lovely place to spend part of a May afternoon.

More to come tomorrow including a visit to 5^th venue and a report on the finals!

*Pavilion illustrated in the Bradman Museum Origins of International Cricket Exhibition 1870 (Ed.)

Day 3
Well, what a wonderful day to wrap up a wonderful Festival and a splendid trip overall. The weather was cooperative with a bit of a cool morning turning off into a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon for the final.

I started the morning with a trip out to into the country side for the 5^th and final venue, The British Officers Cricket Club which is completely contained within the Evansburg State Park. Evansburg is over 1000 acres in total with plenty of outdoor activities from fishing to hiking to, of course, cricket.

There are two wickets maintained by the BOCC and I was treated to a bit of match overlap as the Collegeville Cricket Club was just starting their Sunday league 40 over match as BOCC was rapidly dispatching Littleton CC in the last of the Festival regular play matches. The grass was a bit high, but it would have been no matter in this contest.

BOCC were clearly the better side this morning and Littleton had to cobble together an XI will a few local fill-ins since their side had been dramatically reduced due to absence and injury.

Throughout the Festival, I have seen a variety of skill across the 16 sides. While every side had their share of good batsmen and bowlers, most sides also had a few players who were not up to the running and sliding demands of fielding and a few others who were truly challenged to handle the pace of some of the bowling. Let’s just say some of the 4s were due to a fielder’s surrender rather than a ball well struck through cover.

As is always the case, quality wins out and the Finals was a great pairing of two undefeated sides Commonwealth and Sarasota. I had the good fortune of seeing these sides play during the Festival and I was not at all surprised to see them again in the Finals here at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. There was also a standing room only crowd which added to atmosphere.

Everything about the final raised the level of play including club jackets for the PCC members and a proper inspection of the pitch before the coin toss . The level of play matched this higher form. The bowling, both spin and pace, was spot on. The batting, including some massive blows for 6s, was equal to the task.

Commonwealth opened the innings with a rather tight and tidy 124 setting a target of 125. Sarasota, having traveled over 1000 miles to play in the Festival, took the crease ready to go. With a required run rate of just over a ball a run, Sarasota remained measured and took every run they could in every way.

From the start, it looked as if Sarasota would quickly make the chase. However, cricket is cricket and a few key wickets fell and the match outcome once again was in doubt. After the 4^th wicket was lost, Sarasota got deeply focused, hit a nice bunch of boundaries, and in the end completed the chase at the end of the 15^th over.

Sarasota has done well in the Festival, having been the runner up three times. 2012, the 20^th anniversary of the Festival, proved to be the charm as they final got the trophy.

I’ve seen a lot of cricket over these past three days and I enjoyed every ball. As I said early, the play was a bit irregular but all of it was in full earnest. When I look over this field of teams, I see a real future for cricket here in the USA. The 16 teams came from 8 different states and from the UK. Team members old and young tried their very best and really shared in the true spirit of cricket.

This has been a wonderful experience and I’m already looking forward to a return visit in 2013.

There is more good cricketing news here in the USA as the West Indies are due to host New Zealand for two 20/20 matches in Lauderhill, Florida at the end of June. Sadly, not a US team. However, it is international cricket being played on US soil. Another bit of progress.

The Elite Panel Umpires and Referees workshop in Dubai was two days of intense topics, discussion, debate and learning. As you can imagine, with a group of over 20 match officials in the one place, there is much professional debate about how to go about things in the game of cricket. What was really pleasing about this gathering was the sharing of experiences and ideas about performance improvement.

This was also our last workshop with our office support guru, Brent Silva, who has accepted a position as General Manager of Rugby League Victoria. Brent has been with us for a couple of years and has done a great job in our administration and logistics – he will be missed and we wish him every success.

Straight off to Chennai from Dubai for the IPL, edition 5. Great to be back in India and part of an event that often brings the best of the best together in the T20 format. A place where entertainment, music, dance, loud noise and innovating cricket meet. Day one in Chennai began with a series of meetings with the match officials and then the 9 franchise Captains and ended with the function to launch the event. It was a big night as the local Bollywood stars sang and danced with plenty of colour and body shaking music. No, it was not their bodies shaking (well, it was), but ours did as well as the music was that loud you could feel the thumps of the speakers go right through you.

I was attending the launch with about 14 of the local match officials who were in awe of some of their biggest stars – the “Big B”, Pryanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapur and many others. They dazzled with the dancers for a couple of hours until Katy Perry hit the stage – something we had been waiting for all night. Katy got through her first song and then the local umps said “it’s time to go” – what!? I missed out on a great 45min package of Katy Perry singing her finest all because my team did not want to get stuck in traffic. Ah well, some sleep was needed anyway.

The next day saw me on field in the opening 8pm match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians – MS Dhoni up against Tendulkar. Mumbai played the better in the hot and humid conditions and we got back to the hotel around 1am. Another day, another flight (this time to Mumbai) and another hotel.

The next game was Mumbai up against their next door rivals, the Pune Warriors led by former India Captain, Sourav Ganguly. It was a packed house at Wankhede Stadium and we could not hear a thing out on the ground. Communication was close to impossible as the home team went down to Pune – Sachin was not playing due to injury and they really missed his batting ability.

As I said, another day, another flight and another hotel – this time, off to Pune where the Punjab Kings XI, captained by Adam Gilchrist were going to play. A brand new stadium in Pune built by the owner of the Pune Warriors franchise and a lot of work to get it ready in time. A full house of around 40000 spectators, loud music, fireworks and boundary dancers – plus 40 overs of cricket. It’s an interesting game when you start at 8pm – how to fill in the day while remaining focused and prepared is a challenge. Today was more challenging, as not only did I need to officiate between 8pm and 11.30pm, but also then drive from Pune to Mumbai (about 200km) straight after the match to catch my flight to Dubai departing at 4.30am. We certainly needed the police escort to get out of the ground and onto the highway and the driver did a great job to get through the traffic to the airport on time. Close to 24hrs with no sleep and on to EK501 to Dubai. I don’t remember much of the flight!

Well, back to Australia now for a couple of weeks and holidays with the family before then heading back to India for the last 4 weeks of the IPL 76 match tournament. The last month has been full on with coaching, training and umpiring, so it will be nice to have some time away from that and recharge.

Take care and best wishes,

Simon.

On the anniversary of the amazing “Welcome Home Mary Poppins” Guinness World Record in May 2011, we invite the community to return and help us raise the final round of funds for the life-size bronze statue. Hopefully on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary we might see the statue unveiled.

Bring the family and buy a bag of daffodil bulbs to plant as part of the celebration of the world record anniversary and check out the recent park landscaping done by Wingecarribee Council.

Register your interest at www.shyac.org.au. Entry on the day is free and enjoy another special day in Bowral with the help of a bit of magic (and weather-watching) from Mary Poppins.

It was great to officiate the ICC T20 Qualifying tournament in the UAE with a group of up and coming International  / Associate Panel umpires. We started off with a two day training workshop and then got stuck into the 70+ match event. It was a full on for me with eight T20 matches in the first 4 days and I ended up officiating 12 matches and seeing Afghanistan and Ireland qualify for the World T20 event in Sri Lanka in September.

The umpires and referees were great to work with, on and off the field. We managed to get in a couple of team events during the tournament that included an evening dinner at the Dubai Fountain, a cultural breakfast at the national learning centre and an evening cruise on Dubai Creek.

Traditional breakfast at the Sheikh Muhammad Centre for Cultural Learning and Understanding

As you can see in the photo above, we had a few laughs and enjoyed learning more about the Arabic culture of the region. Good food and great entertainment provided by our local host, Nasif, who became known to us all as “good to go” Nasif. (He was a very western Emirati).

Following this tournament, I then headed off to Kegworth (via Birmingham) in the UK to attend the ECB umpires’ conference and deliver some ICC 3^rd umpire Accreditation training. It was a pleasure to catch up with former colleagues like Peter Willey who I have not seen for close to 10 years. We spent the night before the conference at the local greyhound racing track where I showed the lads my betting skills – I managed to back 8 last places out of 12 races and the only winner I picked ended up being a dead heat which returned a half win dividend! I’ve been told many times that I’ve “gone to the dogs” and “you sure know how to pick em” but this time I really outdid myself.

The English weather really delivered for the couple of days that I was there but we were stuck inside the conference room covering topics like world class, effective communication, changes to playing conditions and Accreditation.

Straight after the conference I was on a flight that night back to Dubai to prepare for and attend the ICC Elite Panel training conference being held this weekend. The weather is starting to warm up here and there are plenty of holiday makers around the hotel. No holiday for me though as we head into another solid couple of training days and then off to India on Monday for the start of the IPL competition.

I hope all is fine wherever you are and wish everyone a safe, happy and Holy Easter.

Take care, Simon.

The defending champions wrapped up the First Grade Grand Final early on Sunday morning (April 1), bowling Randwick Petersham out for 185 in reply to their first innings total of 407.

Sydney University’s victory was set up on day one with Greg Mail (94) and Scott Henry (90) making the most of some excellent batting conditions. Stuart Clark hit 72 batting at number seven, while important contributions from lower order batsmen Will Sommerville (39) and James Crowley (36 not out) helped them to edge past the 400 mark early on day two before being bowled out.

Randwick Petersham needed their top order to fire but unfortunately for them, Stuart Clark was on song with the former Test quick claiming three early wickets, including Nathan Price and Simon Katich without scoring.

Usman Khawaja (24) and Adam Coyte (42) settled things down with a 57 run partnership, however, Khawaja’s run out followed by two quick wickets to Stuart MacGill reduced them to 6-97. Fortunately, Nathan Hauritz and Adam Semple saw them to stumps on day two without further loss.

Hauritz (33) was the first to go on day three with Semple (58) out soon after, but not before posting his half-century. The last few wickets fell quickly with Randwick Petersham all out for 185, giving Sydney University victory by 222 runs.

Stuart Clark received the Benaud Medal as the Player of the Final for his double of 72 runs and 3-37 with the ball.

This was Sydney University’s second successive First Grade Premiership. They were also runners-up in this season’s First Grade T20 competition, and Semi Finalists in the First Grade Limited Overs Cup.

While this was a disappointing way for Randwick Petersham to finish their season, they can still be proud of a fine summer in which they won both the First Grade Limited Overs and First Grade T20 trophies, and reached all three First Grade Grand Finals.

In lower grade action, Sydney University won the Second Grade Premiership after defeating Manly-Warringah outright by 268 runs at North Sydney Oval.

The Sutherland club took out both the Third and Fourth Grade crowns.

In Third Grade they beat Sydney by 124 runs at Blacktown International Sportspark, while Fourth Grade saw them defeat Manly-Warringah by five wickets at Waverley Oval.

The Fifth Grade Grand Final at Sydney University Number One saw Gordon beat Sydney University by an innings and 23 runs.

Match Scores – Sydney Grade Grand Finals

First Grade:Sydney University 407 (G Mail 94 S Henry 90 S Clark 72 W Sommerville 39 J Crowley 39no) def Randwick Petersham 185 (A Semple 58 A Coyte 42 N Hauritz 33 S Clark 3-37 S MacGill 3-47)

Second Grade: Sydney University 116 (M Culkoff 39 A Baker 5-25) and 368 (T Kierath 103 K Desai 86 N McLauchlan 4-110 A Lindsay 3-40) def Manly-Warringah 85 (J Toyer 3-30 B Joy 3-12) and 131 (R Bonnor 54 J Toyer 4-34 B Joy 3-42)

Third Grade: Sutherland 290 (A Phillips 72 M Manton 42 A Whatley 41 J Zywietz 32 M White 3-47) def Sydney 166 (C Di Blasio 53 N Govers 40 S Newman 3-37)

Fourth Grade: Sutherland 5-239 (D Mifsud 62 M Kelly 52no) def Manly-Warringah 238 (E Burgess 72 T Kaye 76 C Macnamara 5-31 P Burns 3-60)

Fifth Grade: Gordon 224 (T Curruthers 43 R Klemt 35 T Cooper 31 D Monaghan 30 A Milhalyka 4-32 M Skinner 3-12) def Sydney University 109 (T Bangs 5-21) and 92 (D Monaghan 5-8)

Full scorecards from all Grand Finals can be found at www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au <http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au>