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I am made all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some.
I Corinthians, ch.9 v.22.

Members of ECB ACO will have been surprised to read, in their August newsletter, the first interview with an elite umpire conducted by Chris Kelly on 22nd May. They will have been surprised by the lack of anything in the way of a fresh insight. Most of all, though, they will have been surprised that of all the umpires Kelly could have chosen, he picked on Darrell Hair! We certainly were, having written more than once questioning Mr Hair's dual membership.

This will be, so it was said, the start of communications with First Class officials and their endorsement of ECB ACO. It then gave a short CV for Mr Hair, rightly avoiding the matter of his popularity or otherwise with the players and controlling Boards of non-Caucasian origin. It was careful also not to refer to Mr Hair's central role in the companies set up by his old buddy and drinking chum, Barrie Stuart-King. Members of ECB ACO may find that omission a trifle puzzling. Indeed, we have already heard several such comments.

Let us put that right now. Mr Hair is a Trustee and the Deputy Chairman of the so-called International Community Cricket Trust (ICCT). Mr Hair is President of the International Institute of Cricket Umpires & Scorers (IICUS). Mr Hair has written the introduction to the recently published revised edition - he wrote the original for NSWCUSA - of The Umpiring Techniques Manual and, he advises anyone with queries to discuss them with the IICUS Laws Advisory Team giving an e-mail address. (Those queries will be fielded by Mr Stan Bennett. He is 76 now). The NSWCUSA website reveals that the Life Member, Mr Hair, will become its Executive Officer heading up operations from 1st September. It also displays the IICUS logo and it seems that the Director of Education and Training, Darren Goodger, is also a tutor for IICUS. On the strength of this connection, ICUS persuaded Companies House to allow it to add the word International to its name. What do they smoke down there in Cardiff? Heaven knows.

So, what of Mr Hair's endorsement of ECB ACO? He agrees that being part of a National Governing Body (NBG - sorry! NGB) allows an umpires' association and its members to access resources and support. "However," he says in words we have read elsewhere, "it is also important that an umpires' association retains a certain amount of independence" and "such independence though should always be handled in a manner that serves the game for the better in the long term." Mr Hair should know all about that.

Mr Hair is careful not to name ECB ACO at any point. Obviously, he does not speak about Mr Stuart-King's latest go at conquering the world, and whether he can get any sponsorship or not. (So far, not. ECB ACO members will not be surprised at that). Does the interview endorse or promote ECB ACO though? Does Mr Kelly think so? Or Mr Bedford? Or Mr Gatting? Or our new chairman, Mr Knight? Well, here's a clue for them. Many members do not think so and are unimpressed by the quality of thought that has gone into this latest gaffe. It is high time our leaders (if that is the right word) began earning their corn and getting their acts together.

20th August 2008.