Ian Blackwell's journey as an emerging First-class umpire and challenges from the other side of stumps

London: It is mid-August the cold autumn winds have started to arrive on the northeast coastal town of Durham. The cricket season is on the final home stretch and Ian Blackwell has just been dropped from Durham T20 side. Blackwell, 35, is in the twilight of his career. Off the field, things are not ideal either. With three kids and an ex-wife, Blackwell is contemplating post-cricket career options to ensure there will be financial stability in the long run. [caption id=“attachment_5129771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ian Blackwell. Reuters[/caption] Since Blackwell has been dropped from the Durham team he has few free weekends. Peter Brown and Keith Sutherland, members of the Durham cricket umpiring association in a discussion to ask Blackwell if he would be interested in officiating in few local matches. Blackwell hesitantly accepts the offer to officiate in local club games. Five years on, he is now an umpire in first-class cricket. “I always got on well with the umpires and would always quiz them about certain things regarding laws and regulations as games were going on. I had a gut feeling I’d love umpiring and also a knew that coaching full time wasn’t for me. I had always been encouraged by other first-class umpires to go into it,” Blackwell told Firstpost. After a few successful weekends, Blackwell felt it was worth pursuing the umpiring career option. At the end of the 2013 season, he has lost his contract with Durham and Blackwell had decided to draw curtains on his 16-year career. A career that included a solitary Test for England and 34 ODIs, including playing for England during the 2003 World Cup. In space of two years, Blackwell has been fast-tracked in to the emerging panel of umpires. Having playing first-class cricket for over a decade and then having to officiate from the grassroots has its own challenges. “As an umpire doing all ages and skill levels of games you see things that never happen in the first-class game. I can’t say I’ve ever been hesitant but you certainly have to think quickly and apply your cricketing knowledge. I remember having to give my first LBW decision and I had a weird feeling of being too far away from the action. As a player, I was always the other side of the stumps. So that took some getting used to,” said the 40-year old. During his playing days, Blackwell had tough times fighting weight problems and had also spent a couple of years in the wilderness due to fitness issues. So it is a lot easier now as an umpire? “I can tell you umpires don’t need to be that fit in terms of marathon running. But minds of steel, a willing pair of feet and a back that can stand for seven hours a day in the field! May not look much, but I can tell you, people, who say it’s easy to have never done it! Being an ex-player I know the duration levels and know how to ‘switch on and off’ at the right times during the game,” he said. While Blackwell was not anywhere close to The Oval when an arrow was fired on to the pitch during a first-class match, he said that the umpires now have to train in the preseason on terror attacks and protocols than ever before. “It is really sad when you think the world has gone slightly terror crazy,” he added. Blackwell cherished making his debut for England alongside Monty Panesar and Alastair Cook at Nagpur in 2006. However, he conceded that he never thought he was Test quality. “Proud yes, but I never thought I was Test quality. It was an amazing experience that nobody can take off me, I’ve nothing to shout about apart from one cap and a number (629), but that filled every ounce of what I thought I could ever achieve.” Like most players, who travel to India, Blackwell has a great tale about heading out in Mumbai, in search for pizza one night. Blackwell had joined Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Michael Vaughan and James Anderson in a car that had a police escort all the way to the mall. “At the front of the mall, there was a Pizza Hut. We asked the police to get us in there so we could eat and not be harassed. The place was on the ground floor, glass fronted and by the exit. " “The police guarded the front and basically closed Pizza Hut. We ate and then the police said we had to wait until the cars were outside before we could leave. There must have been 2000 people all looking through the pizza windows. The mall was now packed having heard we were there. It was a mission getting out and the police had to call back up to disperse the crowd so we could get to our police escort. I’ll never forget that until the day I die.The funny thing was nobody knew who Jimmy and I were!” he exclaimed. Blackwell is slowly emerging as one of the finest umpires going around in the county circuit. But is umpiring as satisfying as smashing a ball out of the park or turning one past the batsmen outside edge? “I love the fact I’m umpiring now and hopefully giving something back to the game that players appreciate. There things that irate me every day but that’s part of the job. I’m lucky to do what I do and you put up with what you need to,” he concluded.