Jamaican umpire gears up for U19 World Cup stint
Published:Tuesday | January 16, 2024 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
JAMAICAN international umpire Patrick Gustard is one of two Caribbean officials set to officiate in the upcoming men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa. The Under-19 World Cup bowls off on January 19.
Gustard shared that it felt great to be selected for the World Cup, and he is fully aware that his performance will be under the microscope.
“It was a great feeling because it’s my biggest appointment to date. My standpoint is that umpires are always under the microscope. But for me, I always want to get the correct decision; but if I get something wrong and it has to be overturned, I’m also fine,” he stated.
Gustard, 52, explained that heading into a tournament of this magnitude requires an extensive preparation period, inclusive of workshops and warm up games. Ahead of the tournament, Gustard shared that he’ll be required to oversee four warm-up matches before he takes the field on January 21 alongside England’s Mick Burns to officiate Sri Lanka’s clash against Zimbabwe.
“It’s a lot of preparation. When you reach a tournament like this, you have two-day workshops with coaches and all the umpires from the different countries, so that everyone is on the same playing field heading into the tournament. The preparation also includes warm-up games. I’ll be doing four before the tournament starts, which includes two on-field, one television and a fourth official,” he explained.
Gustard stated that while the crème de la crème of officials throughout the tournament will be selected for the semi-finals and final, he’s focused on doing his best during each game and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
“Umpires are already selected for the first stage of the tournament, after which appointments will be made for the super six. But no one knows who will be appointed as yet, and semi-finals and final will be based on your performance.
“My aim at all times is just to perform to the best of my ability, I never say I want to do a final, because if you set your goal for something like that, then you could be thrown off early. So, my thing is to perform to the best of my ability and wherever that takes me, I’ll be satisfied,” Gustard added.
Throughout his umpiring career, Gustard has officiated in 29 T20 Internationals, while serving as a television official in a further nine. Despite no Test or One-Day Internationals to his name, the experienced official stated that he’s taking his journey game by game.
“Every umpire would look forward to that, but I’m taking it one step and one day at a time,” he stated.
Nigel Duguid of Guyana is the other umpire from the region at the Under-19 World Cup.