Toowoomba Beckons for Glazebrook and Smith

NSWCUSA members Graeme Glazebrook and Neil Smith are bound for Toowoomba ahead of the 2019-20 Australian Country Cricket Championships, which begin tomorrow.

The pair recently umpired the NSW Country Championships Final together in Wollongong as Greater Illawarra hosted Newcastle at Keira Park in mid-November.

The match marked three consecutive appointments to the Final for the pair – with Graeme now involved in the previous five.

Both are members of the 2019-20 NSW Country Umpire Representative Panel, appointed by NSWCUSA to officiate in Country Cricket NSW programs over the course of the season.

In being selected for this season’s carnival in regional Queensland, Glazebrook will be attending for the fourth successive season – having made his first appearance in Wollongong in 2016-17.

Graeme was last season’s recipient of the NSWCUSA Kevin Pye Medal (Country Umpire of the Year) for a record-equaling fourth time – becoming the only person to win the award in four consecutive seasons.

Glazebrook hails from the Western Zone, where he officiates as a member of the Mitchell Cricket Umpires’ Association. He has umpired in 12 NSW Men’s Premier Cricket matches, nine of which have been in First Grade.

A well-regarded umpire across the state, Neil was elevated to the Country Umpire Representative Panel in 2017-18 and will be making his second appearance at the Australian Country Championships – having officiated at Bundaberg in 2003.

Having previously lived in Toowoomba for a number of years, he officiated in five local A Grade finals before relocating to southern New South Wales.

Now member of the Murray Border Cricket Umpires’ Association, Smith resides in the Riverina Zone and has travelled to officiate in NSW Men’s Premier Cricket on nine occasions, including eight First Grade matches.

Neil has officiated in the Cricket Albury Wodonga Grand Final for the last three seasons and eight of the last ten.

Kumar Jeyakkumar, representing the ACT at the carnival, is also a member of NSWCUSA.

NSWCUSA Life Member and Cricket Australia Supplementary Match Referee Neil Findlay has been appointed as Tournament Referee.

The full panel of umpires selected are as follows-

Peter Burton (Western Australia)
Graeme Glazebrook (New South Wales)
Kumar Jeyakkumar (Australian Capital Territory)
Kurt Miegel (South Australia)
Colin Morris (Queensland)
Imran Muhammad (Northern Territory)
Neil Smith (New South Wales)
Steve Stimpson (Queensland)
Scott Whitters (Tasmania)
Jamie Wyatt (Victoria)

Photo – Graeme and Neil together ahead of the 2019-20 NSW Country Cricket Championships Final at Keira Park (Credit: Bruce Whitehouse)