Breaking Cricket News: Aleem Dar is ICC Umpire of the Year 2010
Pakistan’s Aleem Dar won the David http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shepherd-c89969 Trophy after being voted as the ICC Umpire for the Year 2010. This was the second time the Pakistani was bestowed with such honours.
'The forty two year old was voted to this award by the ten Full Member captains as well as the eight-man Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months' – According
to Dawn.com
“I'm honoured to have been named the winner for the second year in row.” were Aleem Dar’s words on receiving the award.
The Pakistani had to shrug off strong competition from his colleagues on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. These included big names in the form of Steve Davis, Tony Hill and 5-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel.
These days, with emphasis on merging technology with sports, the human element has often being brought under scrutiny. Mostly, umpires are remembered for the mistakes they make, rather than the good decisions they are able to adjudge.
It should be remembered that the job of an umpire isn’t easy. It involves utmost concentration for every delivery of the match. It starts from looking at the popping crease as the bowler is on the verge of releasing the ball; looking for potential over stepping.
The next step sees the action of the bowler, does it seem orthodox? After focusing on the bowler, the next step sees the delivery itself – Is it in line? Is it marginally wide enough to be penalized?
Leg before wicket is another tricky one. The three questions asked are tough ones to ascertain; where did the ball pitch? Is it hitting in line? Was the height a factor assuming that the batsman is far out of his crease?
The sheer speed and consistency that the umpires are supposed to deliver for the entire length of the game, irrespective of the format, makes it a tough job for any human being – The stakes are high and the margins for error are
low.
The fact that umpires are further being challenged with the referral system in some formats of the game further undermines their importance. Aleem Dar on the other hand managed to be reliable in front of an audience that merely
wishes to jump at the sight of an error by an official.
The good news is nothing short of a collective boost for the Pakistani nation. A country hit by floods and spot fixing scandals finally gets the attention for the right reasons. Aleem Dar did a commendable job in 2010 and let us
hope he continues to do so for the foreseeable future.
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