International cricket umpire panel enlarged

Press, 9 August 1988, Page 26

International cricket umpire panel enlarged

PA Wellington New Zealand’s. international panel of cricket umpires was enlarged from five to six this week-end when two new members were elected to replace the recently retired Fred Goodall. Graham Cowan, of Auckland, and Steve Dunn, of Otago, were confirmed as panel members at a meeting of the New Zealand Cricket Council Board of Control in Wellington. The panel was traditionally five-strong, the N.Z.C.C. executive director, Graham Dowling, said, but with the retirement of Goodall, New Zealand’s most experienced test umpire, it had been decided to enlarge the group. The panel is now: Brian Aldridge (Canterbury), Graham Cowan (Auckland), Steve Dunn (Otago), Roger McHarg (Canterbury), George Morris (Otago), Steve Woodward (Wellington). The meeting was the last attended by the board chairman, Bob Vance, who will retire at the council’s annual meeting in September. Board members •paid tribute to his service. A New Zealand under-19 cricket team will tour the United Kingdom between July and September next year for a number of matches which will be known as the Brierley Services. Mr Dowling said the tour, which represented the culmination of two years endeavour, would be the first of its

kind by the New Zealand agegrade team. The board heard that no progress had been made in negotiations with India over the itinerary for New Zealand’s tour there later this year. Indian cricket authorities announced from Bangalore recently that New Zealand would play five one-day internationals in nine days at venues differing from those originally indicated. New Zealand has requested the matches be spread over more than nine days or that only four games be played. Mark Plummer, of Auckland, has been appointed physiotherapist for the tour at the start of a three-year contract, which will tie him to the national team for all home and away matches. The board received a report of a recent International Cricket Conference meeting in London at which the Australasian bid for the next World Cup was discussed. “It’s safe to say a time frame has been established within which New Zealand and Australia have to work to produce their proposal,” Mr Dowling said. “We are about now to work on that. Things between Australia and New Zealand are at a good level and we will work together over the next few months to put together a proposal. “Whether we come close to matching Pakistan’s bid remains to be seen,” Mr Dowling said.