ICC officials lead WICB umpires and referees workshops

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) continued to focus on equipping match officials involved in the game with the necessary skills to enhance their performances.

On Monday, three workshops commenced in Jamaica for umpires, match referees and video analysts from across the region.

ICC Umpires and Referees Manager Vince van der Bijl along with John Holder, the ICC Regional Umpires Performance Manager (for Europe and the West Indies) made presentations to the 13 umpires and 13 match-referees.

WICB Director of Cricket, Tony Howard, in his presentation at the start of the workshops for Match-Referees and Umpires said that the WICB is in a ?season of change'.

In highlighting that the now retired Clive Lloyd and Steve Bucknor were West Indies pioneers in the field of international match refereeing and umpiring, Howard outlined that the WICB is making committed efforts to lift the standards of umpiring and match refereeing in the region.

Bucknor, former ICC Elite Umpire, will also make a presentation, share his knowledge and experience and lead discussions during the three day sessions which will end on Wednesday, 13 October.

In urging the participants to move away from the ways and views of the past van der Bijl said that the umpires and match referees must take collective responsibility for the game. "You must take the responsibility to control the game and maintain discipline at all times," he advised during an energetic presentation.

ICC Elite Umpire Billy Doctrove and ICC Match Referee Adrian Griffith are teaming up with Van Der Bijl, Holder and Bucknor in leading the workshops.

The workshops follow the last meeting of the WICB where it was announced that regional umpires and match referees will be on annual central retainer contracts and a WICB Emerging Umpires Panel will be established along with the WICB Senior Umpires Panel and the WICB Match Referees Panel.