Kingston, Jamaica – The WICB workshops for umpires, match referees and video analysts conclude today in Jamaica and several participants have expressed pleasure and satisfaction while commenting that it was a refreshing and much needed engagement.
 
Barbadian umpire Gregory Brathwaite who makes his debut as a regional umpire today in the WICB Regional 50 Over opening game between Jamaica and Windward Islands said that the workshop for umpires was most informative.
 
“I found the workshop not only very informative but absolutely necessary from the position that it focuses you as an umpire in understanding what you need to do to chart your pathway to the highest level and the WICB is putting the framework for that pathway in place,” Brathwaite said before travelling to Trelawny on Wednesday afternoon.
 
“A lot of information was shared with us by the ICC officials and I can see this now being broken into segments for continuous training because we also need to go back to our respective countries and pass on the information to emerging umpires,” said the 40 year old Brathwaite who is a business man in Barbados who owns several retail and distribution outlets.
 
Brathwaite says while he was nervous when he got the call telling him that he will stand in his first senior regional game he is now relishing the opportunity to officiate in the middle.
 
Former West Indies fast bowler Reon King, who along with pace partner Colin Stuart participated in the Match Referees workshop said that the sessions were extremely informative and that he is keen on making match refereeing a career path.
 
“What was key for me was that it was emphasized in the workshops that as a match referee you cannot understate the importance of man management skills which is required to function effectively,” said King who is also the Territorial Development Officer at the Guyana Cricket Board.
 
“Coming from a playing background the workshop helped me to view the game from a broader perspective and appreciate the enormous scope of the game and how it needs to be managed in a holistic way by the match referee, “said the 35 year old King who played 19 Tests and 50 One Day Internationals for the West Indies between 1998 and 2005.
 
King took 129 international wickets with a best of 5 for 51 against Zimbabwe in Jamaica.
 
Dwain Gill of Grenada who participated in the Video Analyst Training Workshop said that the training was useful in that it allowed for a clearer understanding of the game.
 
“This workshop has helped me to not only understand the technological aspect of the game better but with the training I can help players and coaches to prepare better for games and to help player review their performances to see what areas they have done well in and where they need to improve and how they can improve,” Gill said.
 
“It is most beneficial because now when we go back to our territories we have the equipment and we have to put what we have learned into practice so that we can become better,” added Gill who is a former coach of the Grenada Cricket Team.
 
Each territory will be given a laptop, video camera and video analysis software by the WICB pending the successful completion of the workshop by that territory’s candidate. The video analyst trainees will spend the final day of their workshop today capturing, coding and analyzing video footage of the Trinidad & Tobago versus Combined Campuses & Colleges match at Kensington Park.
 
The match referees will observe the T&T v CCC game while, with the exception of ICC Umpire Billy Doctrove, the umpires move on to officiate in the tournament.
 
Workshop facilitators
Vince Van Der Bijl – ICC Umpires & Referees Manager
John Holder – ICC Regional Umpires Performance Manager (Europe & West Indies)
Steve Bucknor – Retired ICC Elite Umpire
Adrian Griffith – ICC Match Referee
Richard Berridge – West Indies Video & Statistical Analyst
Walt Rock – Sports code
 
Workshop Attendees
 
Umpires
Billy Doctrove – Dominica/West Indies
Clyde Duncan – Guyana
Norman Malcolm - Jamaica
Clancy Mack – Antigua & Barbuda
Goland Greaves – St Vincent & the Grenadines
Vincent Bullen – Barbados
Luther Kelly – St Kitts & Nevis
Vivian Johnson – Jamaica
Peter Nero – Trinidad & Tobago
Lennox Abraham – Dominica
Gregory Brathwaite – Barbados
Nigel Dugid – Guyana
Joel Wilson – Trinidad & Tobago
 
Match Referees
Vanroy Burnes – Antigua & Barbuda/Leeward Islands
Mervyn Jones – Barbados
Carlyle Carter – Barbados
Reon King – Guyana
Colin Stuart – Guyana
Denavon Hayles – Jamaica
Donald McNaughton – Jamaica
Michael Hylton – Jamaica
Cecil Fletcher – Jamaica
Patrick Felix – St Lucia/Windward Islands
Selwyn Allen – St Vincent & the Grenadines/Windward Islands
Terence Birbal – Trinidad & Tobago
Haydn Bruce – Trinidad & Tobago
 
Video Analysts
Justin Joseph – Antigua & Barbuda/Leeward Islands
Rodney Ashby – Barbados
Steven Leslie – Combined Campuses & Colleges
Dwayne Gill – Grenada/Windward Islands
Robin Singh – Guyana
Dexter Augustus – Jamaica
Trent Sargeant – St Kitts & Nevis/Leeward Islands
Rudy Ramesar – Trinidad & Tobago
Dinesh Mahabir – Trinidad & Tobago