Bob Davis Honoured with Life Membership

The Association extends congratulations to its 54th Life member, Bob Davis, who received the honour at a Special General Meeting held last week via Zoom.

Bob first joined NSWCUSA as an umpire in 1995, being appointed to 12 matches in his first season before continuing on-field for fifteen further summers.

Whilst an active umpire, he also contributed off the field as a member of the Association’s Social Committee for seven seasons, in which time he oversaw raffles, golf days, social cricket matches and Christmas dinners among other social events.

By the time he moved away from on-field officiating, he had stood in 221 matches – including one in First Grade, 93 in Second Grade and 72 in Third Grade.

In 2011, Bob was recognised with Principal membership of the Association, an appropriate acknowledgement of fifteen years of service on and off the field.

The 2011-12 season saw Bob join the Observer team, volunteering his Saturdays to travel around Sydney watching umpires and providing detailed feedback to them, both verbally on the day and through a detailed report in the days after.

He remains a familiar face around Men’s Premier Cricket grounds, with last summer being his tenth season as an observer, making the effort to visit two matches each Saturday to view the umpires.

Bob presents to members at the 2016 Annual Convention

In that capacity, Bob works closely with Association staff, keeping track of the umpires that each observer views during the season and assisting with the appointment of observers to maximise the group’s coverage across the summer.

He also plays a crucial role in ensuring that two umpires attend all 50 Men’s Premier Cricket grounds each Saturday – volunteering his time to take and make phone calls when an umpire is unable to attend their match on the day – this role has also seen Bob take up a position at square leg on a number of occasions.

For the last four seasons, he has also been a crucial part of the Panel Selection Committee, bringing with him valuable insights into the development and ability of those officiating on NSW Men’s Premier Cricket Umpire Panels 3 and 4, particularly newer umpires.

He would also be known to avid readers of In Black and White under his pseudonym – The Nightwatchman – which sees him as the brains behind the Cric-o-ku in each edition of the journal.

For 25 seasons, Bob Davis has been a dedicated member making a significant contribution to the Association and his fellow members, both on and off the field and is a truly worthy recipient of Life membership.

Top photo: Life member Kim Norris presents Bob with his 25 Years of Service badge at the 2021 Annual Dinner and Awards Night // Steven K Smith