Why would-be umpires should head for Arundel

It will be held over three Sundays - January 29 and February 5 and 19.

Each day starts at 9.30am and finishes about 5pm. Refreshments such as tea and coffee will be provided but students will need to provide their own lunch.

The fee for each of the courses is £90, which includes tuition material, one year’s membership of the ECB ACO, membership of the West Sussex ACO, plus a copy of the book Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring.

Upon completion of the course, students can, if they wish, sit the ECB ACO level one umpire examination, which takes place on the third Sunday.

For scorers, a course will be arranged if there is sufficient interest.

Clubs can be confident they can provide umpires and scorers with a good knowledge of the laws of cricket to officiate in games if the individuals have attended such courses.

The association hope clubs will support the courses as the number of officials available is never sufficient to meet the demand.

Additionally a number of cricket clubs have found useful an evening visit by association officials to make a short presentation on the laws of the game.

The evenings, with a question-and-answer session, last about two hours and can be arranged to suit your club’s requirements. The association asks only for a donation towards the travel costs of the instructors.

For further information on umpire or scorer courses or presentation evenings, please contact Derek Knight on 01243 582578 or Trevor Drake 01243 263917.