History of Croydon Umpires and Scorers Association
The Laws of Cricket, the role of Umpires and Scorers,
our History in Croydon
The first definite mention of a cricket match anywhere was at Guildford in 1550 but the earliest reported game in London took place in 1680. On Tuesday 21 July, 1707, Croydon hosted London with a return fixture in Lamb's Conduit Street two days later. Regrettably, no match reports exist and the results are not known. Nor do we know when the London and Croydon clubs were formed. In 1730, London beat Surrey at the Artillery Ground, an old archery ground owned by the Honourable Artillery Company where, in 1743, Addington beat London by an innings and four runs: London 32 and 74; Addington 110. Addington 1743 still play to this day, on a ground at the foot of Spout Hill.
our History in Croydon
The first definite mention of a cricket match anywhere was at Guildford in 1550 but the earliest reported game in London took place in 1680. On Tuesday 21 July, 1707, Croydon hosted London with a return fixture in Lamb's Conduit Street two days later. Regrettably, no match reports exist and the results are not known. Nor do we know when the London and Croydon clubs were formed. In 1730, London beat Surrey at the Artillery Ground, an old archery ground owned by the Honourable Artillery Company where, in 1743, Addington beat London by an innings and four runs: London 32 and 74; Addington 110. Addington 1743 still play to this day, on a ground at the foot of Spout Hill.
The laws were first 'settled' in 1744 by the 'Cricket Club' who played at the Artillery Ground in Finsbury, but they were not published until 1752 when the New Universal Magazine reported that stumps should be 22" high with a bail across them of 6". Umpires, the laws stated, 'are to be declared the sole judges of all outs and ins, of all fair and unfair play or frivolous delays, of all hurts, real or pretended'. Not unlike the 'Spirit of Cricket' we have today.
In the previous decade, Croydon had beaten London on Walworth Common; and London went on to beat Brentford, Sunbury and Greenwich.
The laws were revised in 1774 at the Star and Garter Cricket Club, a leading authority on the 'Articles' of the game, but by 1787 the MCC had assumed responsibility for the laws despite opposition from some quarters.
Cricket was a gentleman's game, controlled and captained by nobles and landowners who set their code of honour above the authority of the umpires. The term 'it's not cricket' derives from a batsman not 'walking': a gentleman would give himself out, regardless of the decision of the humble umpire. Yet some captains considered that the laws applied not to them but only to the labourers and farm workers in their teams and of course W G Grace is famous for not walking - his regard, he said, was for the watching public: ‘They’ve come to watch me bat, not to watch you bowl!’ he told the unfortunate bowler.
Laws were (and continue to be) created in response to tactics which were considered unfair. In 1811, the Law regarding the bowling of wides was written following negative bowling to prevent a team scoring the necessary runs. The first season of legal overarm bowling, in 1874, came after disputes concerning around-arm deliveries had been resolved. It was a woman, unable to bowl underarm because of her billowing skirt, who is said to have inspired the earlier change to round-arm bowling.
In the previous decade, Croydon had beaten London on Walworth Common; and London went on to beat Brentford, Sunbury and Greenwich.
The laws were revised in 1774 at the Star and Garter Cricket Club, a leading authority on the 'Articles' of the game, but by 1787 the MCC had assumed responsibility for the laws despite opposition from some quarters.
Cricket was a gentleman's game, controlled and captained by nobles and landowners who set their code of honour above the authority of the umpires. The term 'it's not cricket' derives from a batsman not 'walking': a gentleman would give himself out, regardless of the decision of the humble umpire. Yet some captains considered that the laws applied not to them but only to the labourers and farm workers in their teams and of course W G Grace is famous for not walking - his regard, he said, was for the watching public: ‘They’ve come to watch me bat, not to watch you bowl!’ he told the unfortunate bowler.
Laws were (and continue to be) created in response to tactics which were considered unfair. In 1811, the Law regarding the bowling of wides was written following negative bowling to prevent a team scoring the necessary runs. The first season of legal overarm bowling, in 1874, came after disputes concerning around-arm deliveries had been resolved. It was a woman, unable to bowl underarm because of her billowing skirt, who is said to have inspired the earlier change to round-arm bowling.
Douglas Jardine's body-line tactics in 1932/3 (considered 'not cricket' by some), and the keenness of successive fast bowlers to push the law as far as possible, has given rise to a clause in the 2000 code on Dangerous and Unfair Bowling; and penalty runs were introduced to the game in an attempt to encourage sportsmanship and fair play.
1934 saw the introduction of the LBW law after 25 years of debate and disagreement, particularly from those batsmen who consistently used the pad to defend their wicket. And pad-play which aided the success of Peter May, Colin Cowdrey and Tom Graveney in 1957 against the West Indian spin twins Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine led to the adoption of a clause which allows a batsman to be given out LBW when not attempting to hit a ball which has pitched in line with or to the offside of the wicket. Could a clause be added in the near future to prevent a batsman padding away a ball pitched outside leg stump?
1934 saw the introduction of the LBW law after 25 years of debate and disagreement, particularly from those batsmen who consistently used the pad to defend their wicket. And pad-play which aided the success of Peter May, Colin Cowdrey and Tom Graveney in 1957 against the West Indian spin twins Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine led to the adoption of a clause which allows a batsman to be given out LBW when not attempting to hit a ball which has pitched in line with or to the offside of the wicket. Could a clause be added in the near future to prevent a batsman padding away a ball pitched outside leg stump?
In 1953 the late Tom Smith created the Association of Cricket Umpires and his 'Cricket Umpiring and Scoring' is essential reading for all trainee and practising umpires and scorers. It makes sense of a contentious and confusing game.
The Croydon and District Umpires & Scorers Association was set up in 1983 as a social group where cricketing laws and lore could be discussed, disseminated and digested. Without losing our sociability, we also fulfil the function of training and supporting umpires and scorers as the cricketing world - globally and locally - continues to develop and change.
A major change occurred in January 2008 when the Association of Cricket Umpires & Scorers (ACU&S) passed responsibility for all aspects of umpiring and scoring to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the ECBACO (Association of Cricket Officials) was created. The ECBACO has a simple clear mission - "to develop competent umpires and scorers to control and guide cricket matches at every level "From Playground to Test Arena"". At Croydon we are part of that process.
The Croydon and District Umpires & Scorers Association was set up in 1983 as a social group where cricketing laws and lore could be discussed, disseminated and digested. Without losing our sociability, we also fulfil the function of training and supporting umpires and scorers as the cricketing world - globally and locally - continues to develop and change.
A major change occurred in January 2008 when the Association of Cricket Umpires & Scorers (ACU&S) passed responsibility for all aspects of umpiring and scoring to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the ECBACO (Association of Cricket Officials) was created. The ECBACO has a simple clear mission - "to develop competent umpires and scorers to control and guide cricket matches at every level "From Playground to Test Arena"". At Croydon we are part of that process.