How did the position come about?
The ICC restructured their umpire and refereeing area of their business and that process started 18 months ago. Part of that was to have five regional managers and an overall manager overseeing the whole process. I applied for the job (rather than being headhunted).

Why did you apply for this job?
I believe cricket’s relevance is that it has a culture and is a way of  life and goes beyond purely the playing of the game. The people who are in there with the players and administrators are the umpires and the referees and they have very important roles to play. I saw this job as an opportunity be part of the process to, with the referees and umpires, keep the spirit of cricket strong and healthy. I really believe in the game of cricket and its relevance outside of the playing arena. Millions of people around the world are passionate about this game of cricket and I just happen to be one of them.

What is you background?                                                                         I taught geography for nine years; for 25 years I was in the paper and print industry, running  a paper making company and a communications and printing company; and towards the end of my working career (not playing career), I thought I would love the opportunity to get back into cricket and I was fortunate enough to take on a role with Cricket South Africa overseeing cricket development for three years.

So are you at the ICC to police player conduct and the spirit of the game?
I don’t think the spirit of the game can  be policed - it has to be embraced and embodied by those involved.  No-one can insist that players are men of integrity but one  can encourage honesty and valour. We have very experienced umpires and referees who are in charge of the game and who can monitor this aspect, while Sunil Gavaskar was recently chairman of the cricket committee and now  Clive Lloyd, there  are good people in place who are involved with this process. The job will be to facilitate and coordinate all this wealth of experience and talent.

What do you bring to the role?
I bring a deep love and passion of the game and a deep respect for the people in it and a desire to ensure that the real value and principles of the game remain and grow in this modern society.

Is the spirit of the game in a worse state now to what it was when you played – shown up by recent incidents like the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds spat and the Paul Collingwood gesture against New Zealand?
When I meet the players and umpires that I know and from what I have seen, I really don’t think the game in terms of conduct and behaviour is any different to when I played. What one sees today on TV and deeply analyzed occurred in the old days, but it was not as visible. Lapses in sportsmanship and aggressive behaviour have been there since the game began. I certainly don’t think the spirit of the game has worsened, it is just more visible. This is not an excuse for the behaviour-just reality. I think players are very aware of their actions.

So you have a lot of sympathy for players nowadays then?              There is huge pressure on them to be role models. I do believe that the general public want from their sports stars the perfect human beings. Supporters expect players must have tunnel vision and be driven to absolute perfection in their specific art, yet be balanced and broad in their worldly views. Be determined and driven yet caring and sensitive. Few like this exist. And in reality it is almost impossible to find these kinds of people, other than a (Nelson) Mandela or a (Rev. Desmond) Tutu. The pressure for players to be perfect is very high. I actually believe though that the umpires are under even greater pressure – every ball – as they can make three unbelievable decisions and they can go unnoticed but as soon as they make a mistake it is highlighted on televisions across the world.

What specifically will you do to justify the creation of this position?
I really couldn’t say what I will do differently at this stage as I want to get in there and see what has gone before (me). I have some ideas that I would rather not talk about now and would prefer to share them with the umpires and referees when I have settled into the role. We had a very successful referees meeting at Lords before the first Test  in July and there was much to discuss. The bottom line is I am certainly not going to dictate to people like Simon Taufel and Ranjan Madugalle, I will learn from them. That referees meeting was fascinating because if you look at the game 30 years ago to how it is now, there are so many laws that have altered or changed. Cricket has become big business and so many of the structures that exist now were not there 30 years ago. Now we need committees and sub-committees and it’s no different to how a major corporate business would operate.  

Can you give any more info on your role?
I will be involved in overall general management of the umpires and referees. I will be overseeing the umpires appointments, assessment and feedback, training and development processes with the umpires high performance manager, Doug Cowie I will be managing with the ICC chief referee Ranjan Madugalle, the development and training programmes, and with the General manager-Cricket, David Richardson, the appointment assessment and feedback processes. It has a strong administrative slant. Ultimately I want to make a difference and ensure that cricket comes out in the best light possible and that the people who are involved in the game are free to showcase their talents – whether they might be Jacques Kallis or Simon Taufel. That’s my vision.

What are your opinions on the recent referral introduction?
Cricket is moving forward at a rapid pace and the referrals are just another way of keeping up with the advancements we are making. Those who have played under pressure in the public eye know that mistakes can be made and it is very difficult for umpires to keep up an absolutely perfect level of decision making all the time.      

In terms of your career, are you at all bitter to know you missed out on a Test career?
I have such a different take on things. At no stage did I feel as though something was being taken away from me. Hundreds of people could have played for South Africa and were not allowed to but I don’t feel like I have missed out. I am just thankful that I made the most of a six-month window in my career when I was a professional and played county cricket for Middlesex. I feel that cricket has given me far more than what I could have wished. I must tell you that when I left school, my coach said to my father who played cricket for South Africa, in fact in the timeless test against England in 1939, “your son will just be a good club cricketer!”-you will now understand when I say that my cricket career has been a real bonus! I feel very blessed, especially for the last three years working for CSA.

Tell us about your season at Middlesex in 1980?
It was an amazing time. We had a sensational season and I honestly believe we should have won all four competitions. If you see the people who were dropped that year – Mike Selvey, Ian Gould, Mike Smith (all internationals), while Phil Edmonds was twelfth man for the Gillette Cup final! The joy for me was playing under Mike Brearley’s captaincy – he was a superb captain, while it was also a pleasure to open the bowling with Wayne Daniel. If you met Wayne off the field you would find he was and still is such a fantastic man. Middlesex did try to get me to stay but my kids were six and four then and it would have been difficult.

It sounds unusual that a bowler as good as you was hardly ever a professional?
I never saw cricket as a career for myself, and in SA it was until the late eighties an amateur game. It was always a hobby and a love to me. If I had been born now instead I would have been a professional cricketer, but in my day we only had a few of those in South Africa like Barry Richards, Clive Rice and Mike Procter. I don’t regret anything. All I hope for now is that the players have fun and express themselves in the right way and show their talents.

Vince van der Bijl was speaking with Richard Sydenham

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