Concentration

FOCUS: “To concentrate attention or effort”

What is proper mindset of an umpire? Is it staring straight at an unobstructed view of play, ready and willing to make a decision as everything slows down and fractions of a second seem like full minutes? Now this umpire IS focused. Too bad you are watching on television and it’s only your dream and ambition to be out there making the split second decision that turns a Test Match.

What about the fact that the bowler “lives on the line”, it is 35 degrees, the pitch is up and down and it is session 3, day 5 of the deciding match in a 5 test series. What really happened before you saw the 5th replay from every conceivable angle?

This is the life of not only the International Umpire, but also every umpire officiating in any match on any given day of the year. Umpires jobs are hard enough given the multitude of Laws and Playing Conditions to remember, extensive techniques to perfect, diversity of personalities with which to interact and the challenge of the judgment calls they’re faced with every time they walk onto the field. Combine all these factors with the pressure of a game situation and even the most focused officials face a difficult task.

Regardless of how good you are in a natural sense with your experience and feel for the game, your performance will be diminished if you are not able to maintain your concentration and focus during a game.