ICL still keen on English umpires; two more officials set to join unofficial league, says Mody

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) remains keen on recruiting English umpires, despite attempts by the ECB to tie its leading officials to the board with 12-month contracts.

Himanshu Mody, the business head of the ICL, says that two more umpires are set to join the so-called rebel league. “We approached English first-class umpires because we were keen to maintain international standards. We are still looking at England as a recruiting ground for umpires. In fact, we are in the process of bringing in two more English umpires to officiate in ICL,” Mody tells the March issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

Allan Jones, the much-travelled former fast bowler and ECB umpire now standing in the ICL, is critical of the ECB’s approach to the league. He says: “The current policy and attitude towards the ICL is wrong. They (ECB) don’t want the ICL because it clashes with the IPL. The ECB are worried about security and betting. We had a small incident but the security is actually very good. The cricket and crowds are fantastic and the TV referrals system works brilliantly. It’s the most fun I’ve had standing up.”

Jones, 61, chose early retirement from the ECB and signed an ICL contract until 2010. He explains: “It was pretty obvious that no matter how good I was, I wasn’t getting any big matches any more. The ECB were giving them to all to the youngsters. It wasn’t a difficult decision. I get the same money as I was earning for less than half the time. I was a little fed up driving around England living permanently out of a suitcase.”

The March issue of The Wisden Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket monthly, is on sale at leading outlets from Friday 13 February. Visit www.thewisdencricketer.com for more details.