New Delhi: Only three out of 140 candidates reportedly cleared the Level-2 exam for umpires conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Ahmedabad last month.
For qualifying, a candidate needed to score 90 marks out of 200 (100 marks for written test, 35 marks for viva and video, and 30 marks for physical fitness).
Clearing the exam will allow a candidate to officiate women’s and junior matches categorised as Group D, the first step towards becoming an elite BCCI umpire who officiate in international matches.
Many questions in the written exam were set to test a candidate’s practical reasoning rather than theoretical knowledge, how they interpret the game’s laws and bylaws in a live game situation.
Here are some of the questions and their answers:
* You are satisfied that a player has a genuine injury on the index finger of his bowling hand and removing the tape will result in bleeding. Will you ask him to remove the protective tape while bowling?
Ans: Yes, he has to remove the tape if he wants to bowl.
* What will you do if the shadow of a pavilion, tree or fielders falls on the pitch and the batsman starts complaining?
Ans: Shadow of pavilion or tree to be disregarded. The shadow of fielder should remain stationary till striker plays the ball. If he moves, then umpire can call a dead ball.
* The bowler, while delivering the ball, drops the towel attached to the back of his trouser and dislodges a bail. What is the umpire supposed to do?
Ans: He shall signal no-ball.
* Toss is delayed due to rain in a T20 match. Match is now reduced to 7 overs a side. How many minutes of allowance will both the sides be credited with?
Ans: 4 minutes each.
* A batsman is caught near the boundary after he has crossed for one run. The no-ball check reveals that it is a no-ball. How many runs will you allow? Who will face the next ball?
Ans: Only one run for the no-ball. The next ball will be faced by the batsman at the non-striker end.
* During the last hour of the match, with numbers 10 & 11 trying to draw the match, a black cloud appears overhead, causing play to stop. To save time, the players remain on the field till the cloud passes. It takes 5 minutes for the match to restart. Number 11 asks you for one over to be reduced from the remaining mandatory overs. Will you agree? Why?
Ans: Yes, because when there is an obtrusion during the last hour of a match, one over can get deducted for every complete 4 minutes of playing time lost.
* A women’s one-day match starts at 9 am and the first innings end at 11.05 am. Now rearrange the timings of the remaining sessions.
Ans: Innings interval from 11.05 to 11.15.
Second innings
11.15 to 12.10
Scheduled Interval between innings
12.10 to 12.55
The second innings to continue from
12.55 to 3.10 pm
* You have been posted for a doubleheader of T20 matches. After the end of the first match, groundsmen want to water the pitch before the start of the next match. Will you allow it? Justify your call.
Ans: Yes. Because before the match the ground authority will be responsible for the selection and preparation of the match pitch.
* A fielder who was hit by a ball in the previous match asks your permission to go out as he is still feeling the effects of the blow.
Will you
a- Allow him to go out?
b- Allow a substitute for him.
c-Treat his time out as penalty time.
d-Allow a concussion substitute for him if a request is made to you, as the match referee for the match has not been able to come for the match.
Ans: a) Yes
- b) No
- c) Yes
- d) No
* Calculate whether the fielding team has complied with the over rate requirements for the innings. Total time for the innings 480 minutes, total overs bowled – 103.3 Time notings by the umpires Drinks: 4 occasions (one of them took 5 minutes as the umpire had to attend an urgent nature’s call). Wickets falling: 8 Wickets falling at the stroke of a scheduled interval: 1. At the fall of 4th wicket, batsman sought medical attention which took 3 minutes. Ball retrieval: 4 minutes. Time wasted: 3 minutes by fielding team’s batsmen during their team’s batting, Change of equipment by batsmen: 4 minutes.
Ans: 6 overs short.
* At the start of play on Day 2 in a 3-day match, the fielding captain informs you that the nominated player was injured in the head during early morning practice. What will be your answer if he needs to know whether a concussion replacement can be allowed for an injured fielder?
Ans: No. A concussion replacement will not be allowed in this case because an injury has not happened in the playing area during play.
* If a women’s one-day match is reduced to 42 overs per side after the start, when can the batting side ask for its powerplay?
Ans: The batting side should ask for powerplay so that the 40th over is the last over of the power play.
* What will you examine, if the fielding side captain requests you for a ball change in a one-day match?
Ans: The umpires will change the ball only when the ball has become wet in unsuitable weather or the white ball has become discolored and becomes unfit for play otherwise they will give a clear command that the game should continue with the same ball.
In case the ball becomes wet the umpire should try to dry the ball continuously.
* What will be the number of overs per bowler allowed in case of following
- a) One-day match reduced to 35 overs after the start when the opening bowlers have already bowled 10 overs each.
- b) T20 match in which the second innings is reduced to 5 overs
Ans: a) Now only two bowlers can bowl a maximum of 7 overs
- b) 2, 2, 1
* In a multi-day match, after being on the field for 30 minutes after lunch, you suddenly notice that the fielder who had gone out before lunch due to illness is standing at slips. On inquiry, you are told that he had returned when the play resumed after lunch. Meanwhile, the batsmen come to you and ask for 15 penalty runs as the same fielder has fielded the balls three times since lunch. How would you handle the situation?
Ans: An umpire must signal dead ball if necessary. He/She also takes possession of the ball and then inform the other umpire as well.
* A fair delivery bowled by a spinner, striker steps out and misses the ball. Silly point fielder extends his hand over the pitch, collects the ball, and breaks the wickets when the striker is out of his ground, on appeal, what will be your decision?
Ans: Not out.
* What do you understand by ‘like for like’?
Ans: The meaning of ‘like for like’ is when the players have similar abilities. For example, a fast bowler only replaces the fast bowler or a batter replaces the batter.
* What are the different calls by umpires where there are no signals?
Ans: Play
* How many runs will you allow in the following cases:
- a) The last ball of the over is intentionally deflected by the striker with his pad and the fine leg fielder fields the ball with his cap
- b) A fielder kicks the ball beyond the boundary line when the batsmen have completed two runs
- c) The fielder at the square leg fence fields the ball along the ground but drops the ball accidentally beyond the boundary line in his attempt to throw the ball back to WK. The batsmen have just crossed for the second run.
Ans: a) 5 penalty runs
- b) 6 runs
- c) 6 runs
